A Pure Heart (Old Version)
by Ariza Luca
Summary: (Used to be Pure as Silver and Gold) Sometimes, it's not hard enough to stay pure in this world. Sometimes, the world decides to see how well you can hold up. Hikari Tsukino is an innocent 8 year old that is Lloyd's best friend, but can she stay as pure as silver when it turns out her element is less than pure? We'll see... (AU) (Rated T 'cuz I'm paranoid)
1. Chapter 1

Hikari Tsukino was walking through Jamanakai Village with her best friend, Lloyd Garmadon. They were holding hands to avoid losing one another, even though the adults were giving them strange looks. Although, really, two eight-year-olds holding hands did look kind of weird, now that she considered it.

Hikari looked a bit like a porcelain doll, with her pale skin and black hair, as well as her silvery gray eyes. Hikari really liked her eyes;she thought they were pretty. But she hated her height; she was so tiny that even though Lloyd was her age he literally almost towered over her by about five inches.

"Look at all the candy!" Lloyd said, pointing at the candy stalls.

Hikari, who was in the middle of a very quiet thought, jolted slightly as Lloyd blurted out and looked in the direction he was pointing. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, pretty," she said vaguely.

Lloyd looked back at Hikari. He didn't really get her. While he usually hated girls, this one had been persistent. She had followed him around and talked to him. So finally, he had started responding because, well… he was lonely.

Hikari lost his interest and he let go of her hand.

Hikari was shaken out of her thoughts by the fact that she could no longer see that black-and-slightly-green hoodie that Lloyd wore on a daily basis, or feel the warmth of his hand, which meant he had probably run off looking for candy. "Ah! Lloyd!" she cried out, looking around in confusion before noticing a crowd of villagers, with Lloyd standing on the fountain.

Hikari began to make her way through the crowd, which was actually not too hard due to the fact that she was tiny. "Sorry, let me through please," she kept whispering shyly until she had managed to get to the front of the crowd.

"Give me all your candy, or I'll release the Serpentine on you!" yelled Lloyd, waving his 'can of snakes' prank gift at the crowd. In response, the villagers started throwing vegetables.

"I asked for candy, not vegetables! I hate vegetables!" he shouted as he opened the can.

Hikari shook her head in amusement. _Oh, Lloyd…_

She was slightly distracted when four, taller guys (in red, white, blue, and black) elbowed their way through the crowd. The red one actually PICKED LLOYD UP and started walking away, the black one saying, "Um, nothing to see here, folks!"

Hikari frowned as she ran after them, as they discussed Lloyd's punishment. "What do you think we should do with him? Spank him?" the red one said, as Hikari tried to run harder.

"Kai, that is rather immature to suggest and we are not spanking a small child, regardless of his behavior," the white one said. _Kai… so the red one was Kai…_

"Who's side are you on, Zane? His or ours?" joked the blue one. The white was Zane, then…

"I am merely stating my opinion, Jay," Zane said firmly, dubbing the blue guy Jay. "Yeah, well it's just a kid; it won't hurt if we do something just this once," said the black one.

"We could give him a wedgie," Kai mused, "how about that for an idea, Cole?"

Having heard enough, Hikari charged over to Kai. "Hey! Put him down!" she demanded, yanking hard on the red one's arm that held Lloyd. Unsurprisingly, she did not move it an inch.

Lloyd's eyes widened as he squirmed in Kai's grasp. Usually, Hikari was shy and sweet, but right now she looked _mad._

"Why are you standing up for him? He's the evil son of Lord Garmadon for the First Spinjitsu Master's sake!" Jay said, smirking and crossing his arms in an 'explain yourself' way.

Hikari paused, trying to get her thoughts together as she slowly let go of Kai's arm, her silvery eyes clouding over slightly thoughtfully before she finally looked up.

"Because… when I was little, I lived alone… my mommy and daddy never were home, and I didn't have any friends. But then I left the house, and he was the first person to be my friend. He was like… the nightlight in my room at night. So where he goes, I will follow him. Even if he joins the dark side," Hikari said bravely before looking at Lloyd, a smile forming on her face. "Because when I look at him, I don't see the darkness in him… I see the light."

Jay's smirk had faded, and he was now sniffling, touched. Cole was trying hard not to smile, and Zane was smiling, not trying to hide it. Only Kai seemed at all unbothered by this.

"Well, that might be, but we still have to punish him," said Kai, and he hung Lloyd up on the sign post.

Lloyd struggled to get down as the ninja chuckled slightly, before they left. Hikari climbed up the building slowly, due to her fear of heights, and, reaching out as far as she dared, unhooked his hoodie.

This simple motion also unbalanced her, and the two kids fell towards the ground before landing in a big, cold snow bank.

Hikari popped her head out of the snow, shaking it out of her hair as she looked in Lloyd's direction- and then she giggled, because Lloyd had snow on his nose. She reached over and brushed it off, making a faint blush cross Lloyd's cheeks, although she was oblivious to it due to his hoodie covering his face.

"Thanks, Hikari," he said, as he dug himself out of the snowbank and began to walk towards the mountains, presumably to be alone. Hikari still grabbed his hand though, making him roll his eyes slightly with a grin.

X

Kai was thinking about Hikari's speech in a slight daze, a tiny smile on his face. Even though they acted like they were just friends, it was obvious Hikari loved Lloyd a bit, although she didn't seem to know it herself yet.

Since he was not paying attention, he knocked a brown satchel to the ground, the slight force also knocking an old scroll out of it. Getting back off of Flame, he picked it up and looked at it. "I didn't pack this," he said, sounding confused.

"That is Sensei's bag; you must've taken it in the confusion earlier," Cole said as Kai opened the scroll. "What are all these weird letters?" he wondered.

"Those are not 'weird letters'- this was the writing of our ancestors," Zane said thoughtfully, taking the scroll from Kai.

Kai raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Can you read it?"

"I think so… this symbol is prophecy," Zane noted, rubbing his chin.

Jay cocked his head, looking confused. "Prophecy?"

"It means something that tells the future, bonehead," Kai shot back. Jay hastily rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle. "Oh, um, yeah! I knew that," he lied.

"Two ninjas… will rise above the others… and become the green and purple ninja… These ninja are to defeat the dark lord… and bring peace to Ninjago… but there is a catch, it is that… the purple ninja is at a bigger risk… of being corrupted, because… and if the purple ninja is corrupted, they will bring… Ninjago's demise," Zane interpreted.

Jay gave Zane a look. "Zane, I think you missed something, like, oh, I don't know, _WHY IS THE PURPLE NINJA AT A BIGGER RISK OF BEING CORRUPTED?!_ "

Zane scratched his head. "I… do not know, the paper is smudged and the symbols are too hard to read."

As the ninja got back on their dragons and flew back towards the monastery, bantering about, they were blissfully unaware of the evil that was about to be released on Ninjago.

X

Lloyd was kicking a rock in the mountains, muttering under his breath. Hikari was having trouble keeping up, due to the bitterly cold wind that kept knocking her back so far that she could hardly see Lloyd. She was also freezing to death.

Lloyd finally noticed Hikari wasn't next to him, and looked around. He spotted a tiny silhouette trailing at least twenty feet behind him, and stopped so that she could catch up.

Hikari finally managed to struggle over to him, her teeth rattling in her skull, her mouth was chattering so much. "T-t-thanks f-f-f-for w-waiting f-for m-m-me, L-Lloyd," she chattered.

Lloyd noticed that she was actually trembling from the cold. Hesitating for only a minute, he put his arm around her and took her hand with his free hand. "C'mon, let's go," he said, leading her along. His body was warm due to the hoodie, so Hikari was definitely warmer.

She gave him a bright smile, even though she was probably going to get hypothermia from the cold. "Thanks, Lloyd," she chirped slightly, still trembling.

"No problem, what are friends for?"

They walked along in silence until Hikari stepped on something that rang with a hollow 'clang!'

Lloyd began to clear away the snow, revealing a huge, metal tomb thing. As he moved the snow, his arm hit a hidden switch, and suddenly he fell into the tomb. "Ahh!" he yelped, landing on his face. As he got up, he noticed Hikari was looking down at him from the very edge.

"C'mon, Hikari! I'll catch you!" he yelled, waving at her.

Hikari puffed a strand of black hair from her eyes, peeping into the hole. "Are you sure?"

"Sure! When have I ever let you down?" Lloyd said with a big grin.

Hikari hesitated. "Well there was that time you left me alone in the park by accident… and the time I fell down the stairs and you didn't come after me… and the time before that, when-"

Lloyd facepalmed slightly. "OK, well, this time I'll catch you, I promise!"

Hikari bit her lip before squeezing her eyes shut and jumping in. For a minute, her entire body felt weightless before a pair of arms wrapped around her. She dared to open one eye to see Lloyd had caught her bridal style. A blush crept across her cheeks, although it was hard to tell due to the fact that her cheeks were already flushed.

Quickly, she got out of Lloyd's grasp and dusted herself. "T-thanks, Lloyd," she stuttered, partially from the cold and partially from nerves.

"No problem… where are we?" he wondered, looking around. They were in an ice cavern with reflective ice around them, which was really beautiful.

"Intruderssss..." hissed a voice, making Hikari look around to see a large snake with hypnotic red eyes coming towards them, holding a golden staff.

The general… of the Hypn… Hypnob… Hypnobrai! Yes, that was it.

"Lloyd, close your eyes," she whispered to her friend, and Lloyd shut his eyes as she backed away from the giant snake. "I control you," hissed the general, continuing to advance on the two of them. As her back collided with an ice column, she ducked in terror, which made the Hypnobrai hypnotize HIMSELF by accident.

"Um, no. I control YOU now," Lloyd said, a wicked grin spreading across his face, to Hikari's dismay. Lloyd…

"What shall you have us do, master?" asked the snake in a deferential tone.

"U-us?" Hikari squeaked, as around eighty snakes emerged from the icy walls. Her hand tightened on Lloyd's, and Lloyd squeezed her hand, although now he was distracted.

"My own army of snakes!" he cackled, before letting out a wicked laugh, leaving Hikari frozen in fear…

x

"Jamanakai Village is in danger!" shouted Sensei, bursting into the training area.

"Calm down, Sensei, we were just there, some kid called Lloyd-"

Sensei was agitated, EXTREMELY agitated. "The spirit smoke does not lie! You must go _now_!" ordered Sensei, all of the ninja immediately running to their dragons at his order.

As they got to the village, hiding behind a few of the buildings, they could see Lloyd riding a wheelbarrow of candy being pushed by the Hypnobrai. Hikari was following when she suddenly stopped and looked in their direction; the ninja immediately ducked behind the wall, Nya catching up to them as they did.

Hikari stared at the wall, she was pretty sure she had just seen a small spot of red; maybe the ninja?

She curiously walked over to the wall and looked around the corner, the ninja stared back at her in perfect shock for a moment. Finally, though, Hikari walked closer to them, her dark eyes wide with curiosity.

"Um… the Hypnobrai general has the staff," she said shyly. "And Lloyd's eaten a ton of candy by now… maybe if one of you distract the general, you could steal the staff?"

Before the ninja could respond to this very excellent plan, Hikari turned around and began to walk away. "I didn't tell you that," she called back. "And I didn't see who's standing behind the wall."

Nya shook her head with an amused smile. "Smart kid," she remarked before turning back to the ninja, her face utterly serious. "OK, I think her plan wasn't bad, so who's going to distract the general and who's going to steal the staff?"

"I can steal the staff," Cole offered, as Kai remarked, "I could make a distraction."

"I'll handle Lloyd," Zane decided, and Jay sighed. "That leaves me with distracting the OTHER Hypnobrai..."

"Ninja-GO!" yelled the four ninja, with Nya following along.

As Zane approached Lloyd, Kai suddenly tapped the Hypnobrai general on the shoulder. As the general turned around, Cole quick-as-a-flash snatched the staff from the Hypnobrai's loosened grip. As Cole began to run off, he accidentally looked into the eyes of another Hypnobrai. His eyes began to swirl with red.

Lloyd was in the middle of a sugar high and didn't really notice Hikari, so Hikari did something daring- she picked up the nearest thing (it happened to be a rock) and threw it at the Hypnobrai that was hypnotizing Cole.

The rock smacked into the side of it's head, and it fell over. Cole began to walk away, when Nya yelled, "Cole, you have the staff!"

"By golly, you're right!" Cole exclaimed, shaking his head as he jumped into the fountain and stabbed it into the water. The antivenom began to rise up in steam clouds, making the villager's eyes return to normal.

Lloyd yelled, "Retreat!" And all of the snakes began to run. Hikari didn't even hesitate a second as she tagged along behind Lloyd.

Sensei Wu watched the two of them run off as the ninja neared him.

"...hm..."

x

Hikari walked around the cavern nervously. She had chatted to a few of the snakes so far, but beyond that nothing much had happened. They were actually somewhat nice, which surprised her.

She didn't hear the two snakes talking however, still trying to help Lloyd with his massive sugar high.

"We all know that the general is being controlled by Lloyd, Skales, and yet you do nothing! We do not mind the girl; she tends to us and talks to us like we're human, but the general being controlled is another thing and we cannot allow it!"

"I know, that is why I controlled one of the ninja," smirked Skales. The soldier snake took a step back in surprise. "Does the general know?"

"No; because my plan will fall into place soon," Skales hissed. A maniacal evil laugh rang out over the mountain, symbolizing the great evil that had befallen Ninjago.

In the monastery, Cole's dark brown eyes blinked and became a pair of swirling red pools before reverting back to brown.

 **A/N: Whoo! First chapter done!**

 **Hoped you liked it; please review and leave me your thoughts!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Responses to commenters!**

 **Rainbownarwhal: Actually, I update my stories in alphabetical order, so it depends on when the others stories are updated.**

 **Man: I know what a Mary Sue is, BUT (spoiler alert) Hikari is naturally sweet, although her weakness is that she's too trusting sometimes and she's also very easily frightened. VERY easily. And if that still seems Mary Sue-ish, could you give me some tips on how to make her NOT Mary Sueish?**

 **ELOSHAZZY: Why, thank you!**

 **OK, let's start the actual story!**

* * *

Hikari watched as Lloyd bossed the Hypnobrai around on the building of the treehouse.

OK, it was cool, but a bunch of the Hypnobrai had gotten hurt by accident already, and Hikari was turning into a nurse. She could cook, nurse people, but when it came to fighting or hurting people (or heights. Or snakes. Or spiders) she balked and became unable to do anything.

Yeah, she was useless at non-household things.

She had become the resident 'doctor' at the treehouse, so if a Serpentine got hurt they'd sneak off over to her and have her dress their wounds.

"Misssss Hikarrri?"

Hikari practically jumped out of her skin as she turned around to see one of the Hypnobrai. "Oh… yeah?"

"I hurt my hand..." The Hypnobrai held out a rather scuffed-up hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry… here," she said, and she drew over a makeshift first aid kit. These snakes… were not so bad, to be honest. They were nice, so that was good.

As Hikari bound his hand, she happened to glance up, and she almost froze when she saw… well, what she saw.

A tall, thin young man seemed to be standing a certain distance away. He had slightly blonde hair, from what Hikari could see.

Was it… one of the ninja…?

"Misss Hikari? Is sssssomettthhing wrong?"

Hikari realized she had paused in the middle of her 'treatment'. "Oh! No, I thought I saw something a little earlier. But really, it's nothing."

She went back to treating the snake's hand, although she glanced up at the last moment. The white man had disappeared.

Had she just been imagining it?

* * *

"Hey! Hikari!"

Hikari shook out of her reverie and turned to see Lloyd. His cheeks were slightly pink, although Hikari didn't really know why. "Hi Lloyd!" she said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Um… well, it's time to sleep, and… um… well, all of the Serpentine took up all the space inside. So… we have to sleep on the roof..."

Hikari's face grew a bit more solemn. She didn't much like heights.

OK, well, that wasn't entirely true. Hikari was fine with heights. She was just scared of falling off wherever she was.

"So..."

"Yeah. Are you going to be okay with it? We can sleep somewhere else if you'd like-"

Hikari shook her head. "No, I'll be fine as long as we're somewhere stable."

Lloyd gave her a look before shrugging. "O...K."

The two of them went up to the roof. Hikari lay down next to him, staring up at the stars, that shone like pure diamonds in the sky.

A soft snoring came from Lloyd, showing that he had fallen asleep. Hikari turned to look at him, and remembered the day she had met him.

* * *

 _Hikari shivered. The house was chilly and empty, like usual. Her parents hadn't returned yet, but she was scared. She had tried the door to the basement, where she was staying, but it was locked. There were no sounds upstairs from her parents._

 _Where were they?_

Mommy…

Daddy…

Where are you…?

 _As Hikari sat there, quietly, she looked around. Her eyes lit upon a small window, high up, almost nestled in a corner near the ceiling._

 _Why not?_

 _Within a few hours and several scratches, Hikari had built a slightly wobbly staircase- of chairs, books, and a few odds and ends._

 _Hikari scrambled up her makeshift staircase, her hand barely catching the windowsill- just as the staircase collapsed beneath her._

 _Hikari's arms trembled as she managed to get up to the height of the window, and with a copious amount of wiggling and squirming, she managed to squeeze through the tiny window._

 _Sunlight warmed her arms and legs and her face, and she could feel a slight breeze. She was out!_

 _Hikari smiled and almost laughed with relief. As she looked around, she spotted a boy walking down the street. He had a black hoodie on, which concealed most of his face, and looked about her age._

 _Curiosity won over caution- Hikari had never made friends when she was a child, or even talked to others- and she ran over to him. By the time her short, tiny legs managed to carry her to the corner, the boy was already walking away even further._

 _Hikari followed him in this manner for several minutes, until, he suddenly turned around, making Hikari, who had managed to catch up to him, run into his body and ricochet off of him. She was REALLY tiny…_

" _What are you doing?" the boy asked with a scowl. "Why are you following me?"_

 _Hikari scrambled to her feet and smiled at him, as brightly as she could. "U-um, I wanted to say hi! I'm Hikari!" She held out her hand._

 _The boy stared at her suspiciously before taking her hand, giving it a short, abrupt shake, then dropping it. "Lloyd. Now leave me alone."_

" _But I can't… I don't know where I am..." And that was true. Hikari had been so intent on following him, and she had never been outside of the house except into the backyard, that she had absolutely no idea where she was at the moment._

 _Lloyd groaned. "I'll take you back. Just tell me the address and we'll find it."_

 _Hikari blinked. "Add...ress?"_

 _Lloyd facepalmed. "… never mind. We'll just wander around until you find it."_

* * *

"Hikari!"

Hikari woke to Lloyd's gentle shaking- so different from the Lloyd she had known several years ago. Looking up, squinting against the sun, she realized it was morning. She had been dreaming.

"Mm?"

"You ready to keep building the treehouse today?"

Hikari shrugged and struggled to her feet. Another day of just sitting around and waiting for snakes to come over to where she was.

As the day progressed with less incident than the day before, Hikari watched the trees nearby, mostly the vines connecting the treehouse. As she watched, a flash of white and blue caught the corner of her eye, and she turned to see the man from the night before and the blue ninja- Zane and Jay?- climbing up the tree.

Curiously, Hikari began to climb up to the roof, popping her head out- just as the treehouse trembled and fell to the side.

Her throat jumped into her throat as she managed to clamber a bit higher. Three of the ninja- Zane, Kai, and Jay- were backing away from the black ninja.

Hikari looked around frantically, grabbed a loose tile from the roof, and pitched it at Cole as hard as she could (which, of course, wasn't all that hard).

It bounced off the back of his head, and he turned to see her. His eyes were swirling pools… he'd been hypnotized…

He began to advance towards her, and Hikari inched backwards before the roof broke under her hands, and she fell off the ladder-

A pair of arms caught her, and she realized it was Lloyd. Blushing slightly, she squirmed out of his arms. "Um, thanks Lloyd," she said.

"You're welcome," he replied, as Skales walked over and said, gleefully, "We should've done thisss a long time ago!"

Flipping a lever, the floor suddenly gave out beneath Lloyd and Hikari, who let out a squeak. Lloyd wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Don't worry! We won't get hurt," he told her, although to be honest he really wasn't sure.

Hikari's chest began to heave, her eyes widened, and all she could hear before a buzzing filled her ears and her vision became black from her panic attack was the sweet strains of a flute…

* * *

(LLOYD'S POV)

Lloyd felt Hikari go slightly limp, and he groaned. "Ughh… a panic attack..." he moaned, hugging her more tightly.

A blush crept across his cheeks as he fell, before he landed on something soft and bounced sideways into something that was less soft- a rope!

It was tied around his wrist, but one arm was loose so he could tote Hikari around.

Before they returned to the cavern, the Serpentine went to the monastery, where the ninja lived. Lloyd watched in slight confusion as they looked around.

A minute later, Skales came out with the golden staff, and shouted, "Burn the place down!"

A few Serpentine tossed torches onto the wooden floors, and the wood first smoked, then burned. Lloyd coughed slightly from the plumes of smoke it sent up as the Serpentine began to walk back to the caverns.

As they returned to the cavern, Lloyd whispered to the General, "General! Take the staff back! Um, you're… still under my control, right?"

The General began to bark orders at Skales, and the next thing Lloyd knew he was tied to an ice pillar with Hikari while the Hypnobrai chanted 'Slither Pit! Slither Pit!'

The General began to fight with Skales, and Lloyd looked around before noticing an old map nestled into a sort of cubbyhole nearby. It was closer to Hikari than it was to Lloyd, though…

Hikari woke up right then, a soft groan filling her throat. "L..Lloyd…?"

Lloyd knelt down and whispered, "You see that scroll in the cubbyhole right there?"

Hikari looked up obediently and spotted it. "Yeah…?"

"Could you grab it?"

Hikari hesitated before shrugging, leaning over, and grabbing it. Handing it to him, she turned to watch the Slither Pit, her expression becoming guarded. "Ah… Lloyd!"

Lloyd turned back to the Slither Pit, and his eyes widened. The General lay on the ground, as though injured. "Uh… get up! Get up!" he squeaked in fright.

The General tried his best to respond to Lloyd's command, before slumping back to the ground, unable to move.

As Skale's legs and the General's tail switched places, Skales turned to Lloyd and Hikari. "Leave! And never return!"

Lloyd took Hikari's hand and began to run out of the cave. Hikari skidded slightly on the icy floor, facing Skales a bit, and this is why she noticed Skale's eye wink and his mouth mouth the words, 'Thank you.'

* * *

(Time skip of maybe three hours brought to you by Baymax, your personal healthcare companion)

Lloyd and Hikari began to struggle through the desert, looking around. Lloyd suddenly froze, staring at something in the distance.

Hikari followed his gaze to see the ninja on a ship, talking to one another and laughing. It was hard to see them against the setting sun, but it was definitely them.

Lloyd sighed moodily and began to walk away. Hikari had to rush to keep up with him, as Lloyd muttered, "Awww… I get kicked out of the Serpentine tribe and the ninja get an awesome ship..."

Hikari beamed at him. "But you also get me!" she chirped. "After all, we're friends forever, right?"

Lloyd couldn't help smirking a little at his friend's face. "Yeah… I guess..."

"Don't worry. I'll follow you anywhere you go, even if we don't know where we'll end up. After all, that's what friends are for, right?"

Lloyd slowly let a smile- a real one, not just a smirk- come across his face. "Yeah. That's what friends are for."

As they walked off into the desert, Lloyd was glad that his hoodie hid his growing grin.

As much as he thought the ninja didn't deserve an awesome ship, he was glad that his best friend was still with him.

 **A/N: Aww… fluffies!**

 **OK, sorry about not focusing on the ninja this chapter, but I thought it'd be a little cool to show what the Serpentine did to the ship, as well as show a little bit of Hikari's background and past with Lloyd.**

 **Review!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	3. Chapter 3

Hikari trailed after Lloyd, following him into the graveyard. For some reason, her fist felt warmer than usual. After she had yanked on Kai's arm, it had steadily become almost hotter. She was hoping it was just her imagination. What she ALSO hoped was just her imagination, were the soft whispers and almost magnetic pull on her arms and legs.

"Uh, I'm not scared. I'm the son of Lord Garmadon. I eat this stuff for breakfast!" Lloyd tried to boast in a high pitched squeak. Hikari huddled nearer to him, her hand wrapping around his. He squeezed her hand, staring at the map.

They came to the center of the graveyard, where there was a large stone platform. Lloyd ran to remove it. "Come on, Hikari, come help me!"

Hikari shivered. She really didn't like snakes, and it had only been sheer luck that the Hypnobrai had turned out to be somewhat nice. But Lloyd seemed happy, so she bit her lip and went to help him. "O-okay!" she squeaked, nervously. With a hefting of the stone platform, it came off to reveal a pit full of darkness. Lloyd peered in, and Hikari took dainty tiptoing steps so that she was looking over the edge.

Suddenly, blurs of red and white shot upwards like arrows, and Lloyd let out a yell. Hikari screamed.

"Who daresss," hissed a voice.

"To free usss..." A slightly different voice slithered in the darkness.

"From our prisssson?" both finished together, and a large, two-headed red-and-white snake emerged from the cloak of pure blackness surrounding the graveyard. Hikari glanced at Lloyd. To her extreme dismay, Lloyd had turned a pale shade of green and was shaking like a leaf, his hand clammy.

"U-um, w-w-we d-do!" she squeaked. The snake(s?) leaned down to come face to face with her, making her entire body start shivering like she was an ice cube. "And who might..." "You be?"

"H-Hikari T-Tsukino," Hikari squeaked. Gesturing to Lloyd, she added, "And L-Lloyd G-Garmadon..."

"Indeed? And to whattt..." "Do we owe..." "The pleassure?"

Lloyd finally regained his voice and said, in a shaky voice, "The... the Hypnobrai betrayed us! And I want revenge!"

"That's eassily done. Buttt..." "Our numberssss are loww. We need..." "Reinforccceeementsss..."

"Then, let's go!" Lloyd ordered.

The wicked laughter that filled the graveyard made Hikari's entire body freeze over in fear.

* * *

"Kai, what are you doing?" Zane asked Kai, who was flexing his hand experimentally and frowning.

"Yeah, you've been doing that for the past six hours. What gives?" Jay asked as he polished the computer screen.

Kai closed his hand resignedly. "For some reason, my right arm is growing warmer. It wasn't really noticeable at first, but now it's definitely warmer."

"That's weird," Cole noted.

"No really, Cole?... it's a weird coincidence, though."

Zane cocked his brow. "What is?"

"My right arm is the arm Hikari yanked on..."

Jay laughed slightly scornfully. "C'mon Kai- are you saying Hikari caused your arm to get warm?"

"No, I'm just saying that it's weird that that's the arm that's growing warmer and not the other one."

"Try using your fire!" Cole suggested.

Kai opened his palm, and it was immediately surrounded by a baseball-sized sphere of flames. Not even a second passed before he yelped and lobbed it out the window of the 'Bounty', what they were starting to call the ship.

Cole dropped his hammer. "Kai! What was that for?!"

"It was like the fire was trying to run away from me... there was just this weird PULL. And my fire was..."

Kai stopped and looked at the floor, flushing red. "What? What was your fire? Warm? Hot? Scalding?" Jay asked sarcastically.

"... _cold_. My fire was... freezing _cold_ ," Kai said, looking out the window thoughtfully. Jay's scornful look faded to a confused one. Kai's eyes locked on the soaring ball of flames. Suddenly his eyes widened and he grabbed a pair of binoculars from the table of things Zane was sorting, holding them up to his face

"What in the world?!"

Jay snatched the binoculars and trained it on the blob of fire, and stiffened. "Well, what is it?!" Cole snapped, getting up and approaching the window.

Jay lowered the binoculars, frowning thoughtfully. "The fire was black, purple, green and blue- just a tinge of red was left in the center..."

* * *

Hikari followed Lloyd and the leader(s) of the Fangpyre Serpentine tribe, Fangtom. They were near a junkyard by now, which Hikari didn't exactly understand.

Suddenly, a freezing ice-water sensation splashed all over her back, and she let out a yelp and whipped around to see-

...

Nothing.

"Hikari? You okay?" asked Lloyd's familiar voice. Hikari stared behind her for another moment, before turning back around. "Yeah, just a weird feeling was all," she said, waving it off.

 _It was just my imagination._

She went about six more steps before her stride faltered again.

 _... right?_

Suddenly, a large... car... thing drove into the junkyard, sending tin cans, an old tire, and a few shreds of plastic flying. Two people climbed out of it, a late middle-aged woman and man. The woman went into the trailer, and the man, after saying something inaudible to the woman, walked towards the large, robotic ninja Hikari was hiding behind and began to tinker with it. Hikari peered at him. He seemed familiar somehow...

About a moment passed before Fangtom let out a low hiss. The man stood up and looked behind him at the trailer. "E-Edna? Was that you?"

Edna opened the door. "What, Ed?"

Suddenly, Fangtom threw the power switch next to them, sending the entire junkyard into darkness.

"U-uh, wh-whoever's there, m-my son knows Spinjitzu!" the man called, huddling closer to the trailer. It clicked in Hikari's head- _his eyes._ His eyes were exactly the same shade as Jay's, the blue ninja's.

Fangtom let out a low, menacing laugh, and, on cue, the Fangpyre dug their fangs into the robots and mechanical things lying around the junkyard. A sickening, green tinge took over the machines, changing them to snakelike mechanical monstrosities.

"You know..." hissed one of Fangtom's heads, and the other added, grinning, "maccchiinesss aren't the only ttthhing we can transssform!"

The two of them closed in on Ed and Edna, and Hikari gasped, knowing what was about to happen.

* * *

Hikari woke up early, her body trembling as she remembered the events of the night before. Lloyd and the Fangpyre were still hiding, and there were bangs coming from the inside of a refrigerator.

Hikari hesitated before running to the big refrigerator and yanking on the handle as hard as she could.

It didn't budge an inch.

"My family's NEVER quiet," came the faintest tone of Jay's voice, and he ran into the junkyard. His eyes immediately fell on Hikari, who was leaning backwards at an extreme angle and pulling at the handle.

"Hikari? What are you doing here?... where are my parents?" Jay asked, confusion overtaking his features, immediately replaced by a white-hot panic, still running towards her.

Hikari glanced over her shoulder to see Kai walk into the junkyard. Suddenly, the freezing cold sensation exploded in her arm, and she instinctively released the refrigerator door as a beam of black, blue, green, purple, and the faintest traces of red shot off it and slammed into the fridge door.

Instantly, the fridge door withered. Cracks appeared over it, turning stiffer, grayer with age, the hinge beginning to rust until it fell apart entirely... for a single moment, the entire fridge door shimmered as ghostly flames devoured it, before the entire door disappeared into a mountain of gray dust that crumbled on the floor. Jay's parents were inside, shouting through gags of duct tape.

Jay ran over, his arm brushing against Hikari's side. "Mom! Dad!" he yelled, pulling on their arm to help them out. Tearing off the ropes and gags, Hikari froze, eyes wide. Their skin was a faint tinge of green, and a small green tail was protruding from their tailbone. "No... nonono..." she whispered, stepping backwards in shock.

As the Fangpyre started to fight the ninja, Hikari trembled with intense fear, her eyes widening.

A cry came from one of the ninja, and she looked up only to see a Fangpyre facing her, bringing an axe down at Jay. Nearby, his parents were letting out screams of terror.

 _Darkness. Blood. A figure shrouded in shadow, kneeling down so that she could only see his glow-in-the-dark, pale green eyes. And the dagger in his left hand. Behind him, two unseeable bodies lying still upon the ground. Hikari looked up into the man's pale green eyes, which seemed almost... sorrowful?_

 _"Sorry, sweetheart. But I have a job to do."_

Hikari's eyes widened, and even though she didn't remember this, even though that _had_ to be a hallucination, with a desperate scream, she thrust her hand out.

Her arm exploded into blazing pain, quickly replaced with an icy cold sensation, and the beam of black, blue, sickly green, deadly purple, and bloody red exploded off her arm and slammed into the Fangpyre's chest.

The Fangpyre froze, the axe frozen above his head. His entire body seemed to erupt in ghostly flames for the shortest of time periods, before he fell backwards, his body shriveling and crumbling, rotting with age, before the body sank into the earth, leaving no trace that it was ever there. Even the axe vanished.

Jay turned to look at her, but not before Lloyd seized her arm and tugged her along. "Come on, Hikari!" he ordered. She looked up into his beautiful green eyes. Nothing seemed to have changed.

Had he not seen it then?

As they rose into the air on the copter, Hikari shivered. What had that been?

If it was possible, she never wanted to see it again.

It was a wish that would not be answered.

* * *

After the antidote had been delivered, the Bounty had started flying, and the Fangpyre staff had been dropped, Jay was frowning with thought before he noticed an identical expression on Kai's face. "Kai... something up?"

Kai's frown grew more pronounced. "You know the second time that thing came off her arm?"

Jay nodded. How could he forget?

"Well, my arm was blazing hot, and then freezing cold right after."

Sensei Wu said, gravely, "That is not the only troubling thing."

Kai, Jay, Cole and Zane turned to face him. Nya looked up, and even Jay's parents were paying apt attention. "What is it Sensei?"

"We need to ask ourselves two questions: one, why did that happen to Kai?" Sensei asked.

Everyone nodded. This made sense.

"And two..."

" ** _What did Hikari do?_** "

* * *

 **A/N: Hey there! People actually like this story of mine, and I'm glad about that!**

 **MMM: In order: Thank you, I hope you like this, and because she helped him a bit (sorry I should've included that). XD**

 **ELOSHAZZY: Here you go then!**

 **Cat in the Hat: Thanks!**

 **SnowKi: Yes ma'am (you're a girl, right?)**

 **GamerGirl597: Thanks, and here you go!**

 **I hope you liked it. Arima Lucari out!**

 _ **x.X. A.L. X.x**_


	4. Chapter 4

The crate was about to fall on Zane, and his eyes instinctively shut as he braced for impact.

It never came.

Zane opened his eyes to see the Green Ninja tossing the crate aside, as a purple blur appeared behind Garmadon. Garmadon turned, but the Purple Ninja lashed out, hitting him right in the stomach, right into the Green Ninja's grip. The Green Ninja then did a blazing green Spinjitzu tornado as the Purple Ninja ran over to Zane and offered her hand to him. Zane grabbed it and let the figure pull him up, before the Purple Ninja did another Spinjitzu tornado right at Garmadon.

Lord Garmadon tried to dodge, but the Purple Ninja stopped three inches from directly hitting him, and a bright flash of light momentarily blinded him. When the light faded, Garmadon was falling over the edge of the Bounty.

The two ninjas high-fived before turning to face Zane.

"Who are you two?!" Zane demanded, his eyes narrowing. "Who are you?!"

* * *

Zane shot up and hit his head on the bunk above him. "Ouch!"

"Morning sleeping beauty. It's almost time for training," Cole said with a smile.

"Why didn't anyone wake me?" Zane wondered, rubbing his head a bit.

Kai grinned at him. "We didn't want to- you looked like you were having some dream."

"How do I know I'm not still dreaming? Ouch!" The last bit came from Cole whacking him with his pillow. "Did that feel like a dream to you?" Cole asked as the other ninjas laughed. Well, Kai did. Jay was oddly quiet.

"Jay, is something wrong? You're being oddly quiet this morning."

Jay was frowning at his arm. "I... something's weird. My arm's kinda tingling..."

"Really? Why?"

"I dunno... maybe 'cause I brushed against Hikari yesterday with it? Lemme try something..." Jay held out his hand, and lightning began to spark between his fingers. Not even half a moment passed before he let out a gasp and dropped it. Instead of it hitting the floor though, it crackled and shot out the window like a... well, like a lightning bolt.

"What in the world?! It felt really cold..." Jay shook his hand, which was smoking slightly.

Kai frowned. "Not to mention it was bluish green. And... I dunno. It looked like there was some red mixed in."

Zane got out of bed and went to look at it. "Hm. It's... just jumping from cloud to cloud now. Wait, now it's gone."

"Huh. Weird. Anyway, Zane, what was your dream...?"

* * *

Hikari shivered slightly as they trekked through the snow. Lloyd was holding her hand, and her shoulder was right up against his to conserve heat. Unknown to her, his cheeks were a slight red color.

Suddenly, something almost electrifying shot into her arm, and she yelped and jumped away from Lloyd. Lloyd gave her a weird look. "Hikari? You okay there?"

Hikari looked around for a moment, seeing nothing but Serpentine surrounding her. Maybe she'd just gotten a static shock?

"... never mind. It's nothing," she said, drawing closer to Lloyd again. Lloyd looked at her for a moment, not saying anything. "Hey, Hikari? You okay? You seemed a bit... scared about something yesterday."

Hikari looked up at him. "Did you not see it?"

"See what?"

Okay, apparently he hadn't seen it.

Good. It scared Hikari to death.

Suddenly, they stopped. "Skales, old chum, is that you?" Fangtom hissed. "Fangtom! Greatttt to sssssee you."

"Hey, why aren't you fighting?!" Lloyd asked, drawing away from Hikari and dragging her onto a nearby machine. Hikari's arm seemed to feel more electric, for some reason.

"Well, I ssssssee no reason to fightttt when Sssskales issss the new general of the Hypnobrai," Fangtom responded. Hikari shook badly. She knew it! She just KNEW this was going to happen!

"If you'd woken up the Venomari, the Constrictai, or heaven's forbid, the _Anacondrai_ , THEN we would've had a tussle," Skales responded.

"A TUSSLE?!" Lloyd yelped.

"Ssssooo, what should we do with the little tyke?" Fangtom asked. Fear shot through Hikari like a lightning bolt, and she jerked on Lloyd's sleeve. "Lloyd, come on! We have to leave now-"

The area beneath her feet sparked. Hikari looked down, distracted. The vehicle turned to hiss at her- for a moment. Then its eyes flashed blue, and it used its tail to jab at the mountainside. Hikari scrambled down. "Come on!" she told Lloyd, who followed without hesitating at all as the large machine revved and 'charged' into the huge crowd of Serpentine on the mountain.

"Whew, isn't it a coincidence that that one decided to malfunction right then?" Lloyd gasped as the two of them tore down the mountainside. Hikari thought for a moment. That lightning beneath her feet... that electric tingle...

"Yeah, that was close," she agreed with him.

Personally though; she was pretty sure it wasn't a coincidence.

* * *

"So, the Purple Ninja was just kinda... there?"

"Yes, except... I could sense that they had incredible power... they just chose not to use it- not until the last moment, that is," Zane responded, scratching his head.

"Since you are all talking and not training, you must have all solved the answer to the riddle I gave you," Sensei Wu interrupted. All four ninja shared a puzzled look. "Uh... the best way to defeat an enemy is... to... train, Sensei?" Kai finally offered.

"Feeble and incorrect!" Sensei Wu declared, walking off. "You must sharpen your mind and your focus; otherwise you shall never defeat the Serpentine." He retreated again, and all four ninja turned to each other. "OK, let's put off the topic of the Green and Purple Ninja until later- and focus on solving this riddle!"

* * *

"'If you'd woken up the Venomari, the Constrictai, or HEAVEN FORBID the Anacondrai'," Lloyd mimicked with a sour expression on his face, "'then we would've had a tussle!'" He kicked at some sand on the ground.

Hikari meekly followed along. She still had the shivers from seeing all of those snakes!

"Look, Hikari! I found it!" Lloyd suddenly exclaimed. Hikari looked at him. "What? What did you... oh," she whispered, her voice growing softer by the second as she saw what Lloyd was looking at.

The Anacondrai tomb.

When they opened it, the skeletal remains of snakes greeted them. Lloyd led Hikari through the tomb, clutching at her hand as he shone a flashlight around-

"Hello there."

"AHHHH!"

Hikari's nerves were completely shot (especially from her little 'jumpscare' earlier) and so she jumped sideways the moment the British voice was heard. She leaped into Lloyd's arms until he was holding her bridal style. She felt her cheeks grow bright red and she climbed out. "Ah... sorry," she apologized.

"S'fine!" Lloyd quickly comforted her before turning to see a huge purple snake with red eyes staring at them. "Terribly sorry for scaring you," the snake apologized. "I am Pythor P. Chumsworth. What'ssss your name?"

"Um, I-I'm Lloyd Garmadon, and this is Hikari Tsukino!" Lloyd introduced, gesturing at Hikari.

Oh how she wished he hadn't introduced her. Pythor nodded his long neck and smiled at Hikari kindly. "Oh, ssssorry about thatt earlier."

"... i... it's okay," she whispered shyly, drawing away the best she could.

"So, uh... wh-what happened to the rest of your tribe?" asked Lloyd, still shivering.

"Oh; they all starved without food. I've been so alone..." Pythor sighed, slightly dramatically.

"Hey! I'm alone too! Well, me and Hikari are alone anyway. Say... wanna be my evil henchman?"

Hikari froze and looked at Lloyd in alarm. _Was he serious?!_ After everything that just happened?

Pythor tilted his head before his mouth curved up in a smile. "Why, of course! That would be absolutely lovely!"

The two of them walked (well, in Pythor's case, slithered) off, leaving Hikari to run after them. Her chest had a pang in it.

She'd forgotten how nice it was to have a friend.

* * *

"Shall we get revenge on both your fellow students AND the ninja ttttomorrow?" Pythor suggested.

Lloyd grinned. "Yeah! That sounds great..." He rolled over, blocking the map by accident. He looked to see Hikari already curled up, sleeping.

Lloyd felt a twinge of guilt- he hadn't really been paying any attention to Hikari all day today. He scooted closer to her and put an arm over her. Hikari rolled over and snuggled into his arms, a small smile creeping across her face.

Lloyd felt his face heat up- signs that a truly horrendous blush was covering his face.

He was kind of happy he wasn't facing Pythor.

* * *

The next morning was a bit... interesting. The three of them were now standing on the roof, Hikari's hands around her shirt as she looked around nervously. She didn't handle heights well.

Lloyd looked over and put an arm around her. "Don't worry Hikari- I won't let you fall. After all, that's what friends do, right?"

Hikari looked up at Lloyd, who was smiling earnestly at her. She smiled slightly at him, her pretty gray eyes sparkling. "Yeah. That's what friends do..."

Suddenly Hikari's arm heated up and started tingling as though someone had stuck a wire into it. She frowned and looked at it in concern. It _looked_ the same as it usually did...

Equally suddenly, something smashed into the roof behind her. She cried out and almost fell forward, but Lloyd caught her. "Hikari! Are you okay?!" he exclaimed. Hikari nodded quickly. "Y-yeah! I-I'm fine," she said, now reduced to a trembling mess. She eked open one eye to see the ground far, far, far below. She squeezed her eyes shut in fright. "Nonononono," she repeated over and over again, as though it were a sort of mantra.

"What are you doing?"

Hikari opened her eyes to see Pythor holding the Map of Dens he'd taken. "Ha! You only want to make the Serpentine your slave, boy. Well believe me, I have BETTER plans than you could ever imagine." Lloyd backed up until he was at the edge of the roof.

Suddenly, Hikari's eye flashed red. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she yelled. As Pythor turned, she grabbed the nearest thing- which happened to be a loose roof tile- and chucked it at him. It hit him in the eye, and Pythor blinked.

Lloyd's eyes widened. Hikari looked as though she could break something- a huge deviation from the sweet little girl who smiled at him all the time.

Pythor started towards her, before he noticed something. He chuckled and said, "Well; until next time little one." He then vanished from sight. Hikari relaxed, looking puzzled. "Hmm?" she wondered.

"Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon! You get over here right now!" ordered an old man's voice. Hikari looked to see a man with a white beard looking at Lloyd sternly.

"I've got him," Jay said, lifting Lloyd into the air and hefting him over his shoulder.

Zane came over, holding out his hand to Hikari. "Come along, Hikari."

Hikari looked up at him, then at his hand. She took it slowly and let him lead her onto the ship.

* * *

"And that is why Jack the Rabbit never trusts a snake," Sensei Wu finished reading. "Thanks uncle," Lloyd yawned.

The ninja all looked less than pleased. "We've been training all day and the little brat gets a story?" Jay complained.

"That reminds me- did you solve the riddle I gave you?"

"What riddle?"

All of the ninja jumped a bit and turned to see Hikari there, wearing a plain white nightgown and standing there in a hallway. Nya was next to her.

"The riddle was 'What's the best way to defeat your enemy?'" Jay told her, sounding a bit resigned. "And no Sensei... we didn't solve it..."

"But that riddle's easy," Hikari said, sounding puzzled. All eyes turned on her. Hikari looked a bit sleepy, but she continued dreamily, "The best way to defeat your enemy is to make them your friend. I should know... that's how Lloyd and I (yawn) became friends..."

Sensei Wu looked surprised. "That's... correct."

Hikari dreamily followed Nya, who was carefully guiding her. "C'mon Hikari- just sleep with me." "Kaykay..." she said dreamily.

All four ninja went, "Huh."

"She's a smart kid," Kai said, sounding slightly admiring.

"... indeed she is," Sensei Wu said mildly.

 **A/N: And there we go! Nice long chapter to make up for two months of inactivity.**

 **I hope you liked it!**

 **Responses to commenters:**

 **guardianluver: Yes! That's correct!**

 **GamerGirl597: Glad to see you like it; sorry for not updating for like two months or something.**

 **ELOSHAZZY: And now we are done with episode four. XD**

 **MMM: It's no fun if I spoil everything; but I've watched one episode of the new season. :3 It's amazeballs!**

 **See ya soon! (Hopefully)**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	5. Chapter 5

Hikari was wandering the Bounty, bored. Lloyd had gone off to help his uncle with something, so this left her with nothing to do. Her hand was a bit cold, but she ignored that and waved that off as being chilly. Wandering the ship, she managed to find Cole in the kitchen, scowling at a pot of soup. "Hi Cole," she said, waving a little.

Cole looked up, his stormy brow clearing slightly when he saw her. "Oh, hi Hikari."

"What are you cooking?" she asked, standing on her tiptoes and peering into the pot. Cole's scowl returned as he stared down at it. "Well it _was_ Violetberry Soup, until Jay messed with it."

Hikari peeked into the pot and took a sip, having to s-t-r-e-t-c-h to reach the soupspoon. A disgusted expression flashed across her face. It tasted very, very, VERY heavily of salt. "Ew!" she muttered, before peeking in. "I don't think it was actually messed up too bad- just too much salt is all. Here-" and she went to the pantry and pulled out a potato. Scrambling up to the counter, she pulled out a butter knife and cut up the potato, before putting it in the soup. "That should absorb the extra salt," she said, peeking down at the soup again.

Cole raised a brow. "Huh. I'll see if that works. Thanks Hikari."

"No problem," she chirped, before skipping off. The moment she stepped out on the deck, she was almost hit in the face as a smoking robot came tearing across the deck. "Ahhh!" she yelped. Jay turned to see her. "Oh, hi!" he yelled, ducking one of the robot's swinging arms. "Sorry- Zane messed with my robot earlier so now it's going all-" He ducked "-haywire!"

"Oh, it's fine!" she managed, dodging behind the mast. "Hey, did you do something to Cole's soup?"

"What, you mean the soup he's been trying to cook for three days? No; I haven't touched it. Why?" Jay shouted back, over the malfunctioning robot's buzzing and glitching.

Hikari frowned. Then why had Cole...

"Just wondering is all! I'd best leave you to it!" she called to him, before ducking back inside.

A few feet down the hallway, she saw Zane holding a pink gi, looking slightly annoyed.

"What's that?" she asked, popping back into the laundry room.

"My gi. Apparently Kai washed his with mine and it stained it pink," he said with a frown. He didn't seem surprised that Hikari had just popped in. Hikari almost giggled, but looked down at it. "Oh. Did you do anything to Jay's robot?"

"What robot?" Zane asked, before blinking. "Wait, do you mean the sparring one he's been building?" When Hikari nodded (she assumed that's what the robot was from earlier), Zane shrugged, setting the gi down. "Ah, no. I haven't gone near it; why do you ask?"

Hikari's frown grew a bit bigger in confusion, but she waved it off. Perhaps someone had...

"It's just a thought. I'm gonna go see where Kai is," she said, before skipping off again.

She found Kai in the living room, glaring at the TV screen. "Hello!" she piped up. Kai turned to look at her. "Hi Hikari."

"Why are you glaring at the TV?" she asked innocently, as Kai glared back at it. "Cole beat my high score; and he wasn't happy with just having the highest! He had to go and rub it in my face!" he complained, gesturing at the TV. Hikari innocently looked at the TV. "Oh," was all she could say. Then "Did you wash your gi?"

"What? No. I was _going_ to, but I haven't actually washed it yet. Why?" Kai asked, before looking slightly self-conscious. "Is it dirty?"

Hikari shook her head. "Never mind; it's just a thought."

Kai got up from his position on the floor and started to walk off. "Well, I'm not going to sit here anymore- I'm gonna go give Cole a piece of my mind."

They hardly had exited the living room when all four ninja ran into each other and started yelling. Hikari was quietly sitting on the floor, still piecing it together, before she rushed into the middle of the argument. "Wait; I think there was a misunderstanding or something!" she yelped, waving her arms wildly. All of them looked down at her. They were significantly taller than her. She ignored that. She also ignored the fact that she was nervous.

"One thing: Cole, did you beat Kai's high score on the game?" she asked, turning to Cole. Cole's brow grew furrier from frowning. "What? No. Haven't gone near the game in three days; I've been cooking my soup."

"See! I asked everyone, and everyone's saying that they didn't do the thing that made the other person mad!" Hikari exclaimed, waving her arms. "So I think someone was pran...king... you..." Her voice drifted off before she slapped her forehead. "Do you know who the biggest prankster on this ship is?"

"Uhhh Kai?" Jay asked. Hikari shook her head. "No; Lloyd is. And who was around the Bounty all morning?"

"Lloyd..." Kai drifted off in realization. "Are you saying Lloyd pranked us?"

Hikari shrugged. "It's possible."

Zane stared at her admiringly. "What?" she asked him, innocently.

"You have a very large vocabulary for a... how old are you?" Zane asked, scratching his head. Hikari smiled. "I'm eight!" she chirped, not understanding why he was staring at her in mild awe.

"I'm glad to see at least one person thought this through all the way," Sensei Wu said, opening a nearby door. Lloyd chuckled and scratched his head, looking at Hikari.

"May I ask what the point of this was, Sensei?" Kai asked, looking very disgruntled. "I wanted to teach you a lesson about the destructive power of rumors, and that jumping to conclusions can only lead to trouble!" Sensei Wu exclaimed, looking annoyed. "Only Hikari tried to see if the accusations were true!"

"Uh, no offense Sensei, but let me jump to this conclusion: today's lesson is lame," Cole said, crossing his arms. "Yeah, why couldn't you teach us how to paralyze someone with one finger; or how to tell if someone is lying from the twitch of his nose?" Jay asked, waving his arms expansively and nearly whacking Hikari. Hikari dodged the movement as Sensei snapped, loudly, "Because not all lessons are about fighting!" A sheepish look came across his face. "I, ah, also seem to have misplaced my lesson book..."

Kai reached over and pulled out a lesson book, frowning. "You mean THIS lesson book?"

Hikari shook her head in amusement. "Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd," she said out loud, smiling. Lloyd's evil grin faded slightly as he chuckled sheepishly. Hikari giggled and left the room, saying, "I'm going to go to Nya's room."

* * *

Hikari was leaning against the wall and daydreaming slightly. Nya had come back while the ninja were off on a mission and Lloyd was cleaning up the damage done to the Bounty.

 _"So," Lloyd said, frowning as he walked along. "What does your house look like?"_

 _"I don't really know," Hikari said mildly, practically sprinting to keep up with him. "I've never been out much..."_

 _Lloyd groaned, facepalming. "Seriously? Why me," he groaned, stomping along the floor. Hikari looked at him innocently before running some more. "Where are your mommy and daddy?" she asked, skipping along._

 _Lloyd shot her a disgruntled look. "My dad is Lord Garmadon! He eats evil stuff for breakfast!" He boasted. Hikari thought, trying to remember. "I think my mommy and daddy might've mentioned him once or twice... but I think it was as if he was some sort of myth," she said, skipping along a few steps to keep up._

 _Lloyd glared at her. "My dad is not a MYTH! He's as real as me or you!" he argued back. Hikari opened her mouth to respond but her stomach chose that moment to growl like a lion. Hikari looked down._

 _Lloyd, for the first time, took a good look at Hikari. Her shiny black hair was slightly disheveled, and her silvery gray eyes seemed almost endlessly wise in a way. She was wearing a pink sweater and gray jeans, but they seemed dirty and they hung off of her a bit, as though she were skinny from hunger. Her face was also a bit thin and dirty, and her feet were bare._

 _"Where are your shoes?" he asked, pointing at her feet._

 _Hikari looked down again. "I don't know," she responded. Lloyd sighed and pulled a cracker out of his pocket, before holding it out to her. Hikari looked at the cracker before blinking up at him, as though she didn't know what to do._

 _Lloyd sighed again, a vexed sound. "Take it," he said. It came out irritably. Hikari looked down at it again. "What?"_

 _"It's for you. I don't want to hear your stomach growling the whole time we're looking for your house," Lloyd groused. Hikari looked at the cracker again before taking it and carefully biting off a corner of it. Then she realized she hadn't actually eaten in what felt like weeks and scarfed the whole thing down in two bites. Lloyd blinked at the sudden appetite she showed, before looking around. "Ummm," he sighed, frowning slightly. He didn't actually know if this was the right way... and Hikari was no help, seeing as she didn't even know what her house looked like._

 _"Well, okay. Here's what we're going to do." Hikari looked up at him, blinking innocently, as he continued. "I don't know where your house is, and I'm not even sure I'm going the right way anymore. So you're going to follow me around," he pointed at her, grudgingly, "until someone either puts out a Missing Poster and we find the information of how to get you home, or until we find someone you know. OK?"_

 _"Okay!" Hikari said happily, skipping after him. Lloyd thought. "But, uh, I live in this school... I just ran away for a bit this time around. It's a boys only school, so... I'm going to have to keep you in a closet or something."_

 _"Okay."_

 _"It's not going to be comfortable."_

 _"Okay."_

 _"I'm not going to be there with you for every second of the day."_

 _"Okay."_

 _Lloyd stared at Hikari's innocent smile before sighing and turning away. "Okay then, come on."_

 _"Okay."_

 _"And stop saying okay!"_

 _"Ok-ey dokey."_

Hikari sighed as she remembered that. It had been only a few years since then- two or three- and yet they'd become such close friends in such a short time it was heartwarming.

A large clank. Hikari looked over to see Nya putting some armor on. "Where are you going?" she asked innocently.

Nya jumped a bit, trying to hide the helmet in her hands from Hikari. "Oh! Hikari, I thought you were asleep..."

"I was just daydreaming. Where are you going?"

Nya looked at the helmet before sighing. "I was going to help the guys out..."

"Okay."

Nya blinked, looking up at her. "You're not going to tell anyone?"

"No."

"... okay then. I'll be going."

* * *

When the ninja returned, Kai seemed a bit out of it- he had green eyes and talked about things Hikari couldn't see.

"He got spit in the eyes from a Venomari," Jay explained.

"And then the big robot-"

"Samurai. It was a samurai," Zane corrected Jay. Hikari looked at Nya a bit. Nya smiled wryly, and Hikari quickly winked before returning her gaze to the conversation.

"We should be worrying about the Serpentine; not a samurai!" complained Cole. "That's right. Only the Sacred Flute could stop a Serpentine-" Sensei Wu was interrupted by a sheepish cough from Zane. "Err... the thing is..."

Jay tilted his teacup around, looking embarrassed. "Pythor sort of... stole it."

Sensei Wu sighed, but before he could speak, Lloyd groaned. "This is all my fault- I shouldn't have released the first three Serpentine tribes in the first place," he moaned, putting his head on the table.

"Don't say that, Lloyd- we didn't really know any better then," Hikari said, trying to cheer him up. Sensei Wu added, "Also, we cannot change the past, but we can change the future. And now, all of Ninjago's fate rests on you four."

This speech was interrupted by a siren going off. "Serpentine were spotted!" Nya exclaimed, running to the computer. Lloyd shrugged and got up. "I'm gonna go finish cleaning up," he said with a sigh, before walking off.

Hikari curiously followed the ninja, not sure what else to do. They jumped off the Bounty and landed next to a sewer (Hikari survived by landing in a dumpster full of trash bags), before going in. Hikari innocently followed, several feet behind. To be honest, none of them really knew she was there.

They were inside, and the ninja started spreading silly rumors about the Serpentine. Hikari, hiding in a doorway, almost giggled- until one of the Ninja was spotted. Then the ninja were all running, when they were all captured.

Well, except for Zane.

"Run, Zane!" yelled Kai, struggling in a Constrictai's grip. Hikari gasped and shrank into the wall, sure that all of the Serpentine would spot her- but they all stormed past her. Hikari eked one eye open, before sighing with relief and placing a hand to her forehead- then jerking it back. Something icy cold and almost _hot_ in a way was on her hand. As she examined her hand, she noticed she was translucent- so maybe that's why they hadn't seen her?

Suddenly, her hand glowed, an icy sphere surrounding it for a moment. Hikari stared at it in wonder as the glow faded.

She leaned back out to see the Serpentine all watching Pythor intently as he spoke; before Zane swung over their head. "Look! A pink ninja!" yelled one of the Serpentine.

Zane landed and cut the other ninja's bonds, but as they all prepared to escape they all were surrounded by Serpentine.

Hikari couldn't just stand and watch for this; and before she knew it she burst out into the cavern. "STOP!" she yelled.

Her body shimmered into view, and the Serpentine all swung to face her. "Hikari?! What are you doing here?!" Kai yelled.

Hikari scratched her head. "Uhhh I might've followed you?" she asked, chuckling sheepishly.

The Serpentine all started advancing on her, and Hikari frowned, before her arm grew icy hot.

When it had been fire, it felt like freezing water.

When it was electricity, it felt like icy static shocks.

And when it was icy hot, it had looked like ice...

"Leave us ALONE!" screamed Hikari, her eyes glowing for a moment.

And in that moment, ice exploded outwards.

Ice covered the ceiling, the floor, trapped some Serpentine, and covered the ninja in frost. The Serpentine who weren't frozen solid had their feet entrapped in ice, or they were slipping and sliding on it.

The ninja lowered their arms. Hikari was standing in the center of the room, a small patch of floor in a circle around her the only area that was not frozen over. She was swaying before falling onto her bottom, rubbing her eyes as though she were sleepy.

Cole was the first to react- he skidded over, picked Hikari up, and yelled to them, "Let's go!" Zane quickly summoned his bike, and all five of them rushed out of there, sending ice particles and frost flying.

"I didn't know she could do that!" Jay was babbling, his eyes wide. "I _did not_ know she could do that!"

Zane frowned as he drove the bike on. "I don't know about you... but when my element joined with her, it was almost as though... that part of our power that we had, had always been hers... and it was just rejoining her."

"Let's worry about it after we get outta here!" Kai yelled, looking over his shoulder to make sure no Serpentine were following.

* * *

Lloyd came back in with Zane's ninja gi. Hikari had woken up a little before they reached the Bounty; and because the ninja wanted to avoid lots of questions they sneaked her into Nya's room, where Hikari insisted that she'd simply been wandering the Bounty and they must've missed her.

"Well, it took thirty loads, but your gi is returned to normal. Oh, and Cole," Lloyd pulled a can of nuts out of his pocket. "To say I'm sorry about the soup, I got you a can of nuts."

Cole snorted. "Yeah, I bet the second I open that can a bunch of snakes are going to shoot out at me. No thank you." He walked to the fridge and opened it, whereupon a ton of snakes came shooting out at him. "Ahhh!" he yelped, falling over. Everyone burst into laughter, even Cole after a minute. At this point, Hikari and Lloyd needed to go to bed, so they excused themselves from the room and left.

"Oh, by the way; Sensei, we have to ask you something." The ninja quickly explained to Sensei Wu what had happened earlier back in the sewers. Sensei Wu frowned, stroking his beard. "I believe I might have an answer to that; but I'm not entirely sure. Let me think about it before returning to it," he told them, whereupon they all chorused, "Sure" or "okay" and left the room.

He sat there for a few more minutes, pondering the thought. "... nothing's impossible. Only improbable," he murmured, before getting up and leaving the dining room.

 **A/N: Ooh... drama!**

 **Yeahhh sorry- the middle bit was a bit weirdly written, but hey, I updated, right?**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **GamerGirl597: Thanks for understanding, and I hope you like this chapter too!**

 **MMM: I've only watched part of the first episode of season six, and here's the new chapter! :)**

 **Lunacaster: Haha; I didn't actually think people would like this story that much, but people really seem to like Hikari!**

 **BinxAngelo13: I updated!**

 **Misskitty2004: I'm glad you liked the ending of that one!**

 **Welp, see ya next time!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	6. Chapter 6

"... then, when he's distracted, a thunderclap to his ears! Then, while he's still disoriented, I'll defeat him!" Lloyd described, moving his hands wildly.

"But what if he hypnotizes you?" Jay asked.

"Or squeezes you in a tight grip?" Cole continued.

"Or spit in your eyes with Venomari venom? Trust me, _bad stuff_ ," Kai said, shaking his head. Lloyd fidgeted, unsure. "Uhh, uncle, what's the best way to fight a snake if you don't know what kind it is?" he asked Sensei Wu, who'd just come in.

"Sadly, it was the Sacred Flute you four so carelessly lost."

"Hey, we didn't lose it- Pythor _stole_ it," Jay complained.

Cole chuckled. "Don't worry, Sensei- when I become the Green Ninja, we won't need any old flute," he boasted.

"Ha! You? The Green Ninja? Don't make me laugh," Kai said, smirking at him.

"You just did," Hikari pointed out, before tilting her head. "And what's the Green Ninja?"

"Maybe you could be the Purple Ninja, Cole," Kai teased, ignoring Hikari's question. All four ninja started arguing about who was going to be the Green and Purple Ninja loudly. Hikari, whose question had not been answered, scowled and yanked on Kai's sleeve. He actually fell over and landed on his back. "Ow!" he said in surprise.

"Oh, sorry!" Hikari apologized, leaning over him. "I was only trying to get your attention."

"It's fine, kid- what did you want?" he asked, rubbing his head absentmindedly.

"I asked what the Green Ninja is," Hikari responded, sitting back innocently.

"Oh- the Green Ninja and the Purple Ninja are the most powerful ninja, I'm mostly assuming," Kai said, sitting back up.

Hikari blinked. "Oh. Why didn't you just say so earlier?"

Sensei cleared his throat. "Anyway; I have your new suits." The ninja all let out a chorus of affirmative sounds as they examined their new ninja suits. Lloyd walked up to his uncle. "Do I get anything, uncle?"

Sensei looked around. Obviously he had not actually expected Lloyd to say anything. "Uh, you get... the box?" Lloyd looked a bit disappointed until Hikari yanked on his sleeve. "Lloyd, I have some Swedish Fish left over. Want one?"

He perked up. "Oh, yeah!" He dashed out of the room, calling to her, "Don't worry- I know where you keep it!"

Hikari blinked before smiling and shaking her head with amusement. _Oh Lloyd..._

Even as she did so, she remembered the second time Lloyd had run away from Darkley's School for Bad Boys. He'd done so about ten times over the course of two or three years. The time she'd met him was the first.

 _Hikari was sitting in the closet Lloyd hid her in, hiding behind the mops. So far this wasn't too bad- it was a bit cramped in the closet, and Hikari was often hungry because Lloyd could only smuggle her so much food, but it could be a lot worse._

 _She heard the creak of the door sounding, and she huddled down even more lest a custodian spot her._

 _"Hikari? Where are you?"_

 _Hikari relaxed at the familiar sound of Lloyd's voice and poked her head out from behind the mop. "Right here!" she chirped._

 _Lloyd jumped a bit before relaxing. "Jeez, you're good at hiding. Hey, wanna come with me? I'm gonna run away again."_

 _"Why?" she asked innocently._

 _He shrugged. "No reason. I'm bored, I guess. C'mon, we can go get some food or something."_

 _Hikari thought about it. Well; not really- she was used to Lloyd's offhanded way of talking to her, as though she were just a person he had to deal with and not a friend. She considered him a friend- he brought her food and water and occasionally talked to her- but he didn't seem to think of her in the same way. But, she was used to it, so she didn't mind._

 _"Okay." She got up. He'd given her a pair of shoes, and while they were still too big for her tiny feet they were a lot better than some of the other shoes he'd tried to give her._

 _Lloyd walked along briskly, forcing Hikari to run after him. She wasn't very strong after sitting in the closet for so long, without exercising, so within half a minute she was a panting mess and forced to drop behind. Soon she was so tired that sweat was stinging her eyes and she had a stitch in her side; not to mention she was dropping farther and farther behind._

 _After another three minutes, Hikari couldn't handle it anymore, and sat down on a nearby park bench. It was relatively early- the sky was barely lighting up, with edges of pink and purple at the edges- so there weren't many people out._

 _x.X.X.x_

 _Lloyd kept walking for another minute or two, before realizing he could no longer hear Hikari's panting. He turned to look behind him- she wasn't there._

 _"Hikari?" he called out, looking around quickly. Nope, she was nowhere in sight. "Hikari!"_

 _Maybe she'd stopped somewhere, he thought, and quickly backtracked._

 _About two blocks back, he found her, sitting on a park bench and panting. Her entire body was heaving slightly, and he felt slightly guilty for walking so fast. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked._

 _Hikari nodded, but didn't stop panting. Lloyd sat down next to her on the park bench, far enough so that he wasn't sitting right next to her; and waited._

 _Another few minutes passed, and her panting lessened slightly. "I think I can keep going now," she finally managed, still panting._

 _Lloyd turned to look at her before nodding. "Okay." Getting up, he waited until she landed on the ground, before grabbing her hand and towing her along. Hikari made a slight sound of surprise. "I'm not losing you by accident again- too annoying to backtrack," he sighed in response to the sound she made._

 _"Mmkay," Hikari responded happily. Lloyd also slowed down a bit, but not enough to be noticeable._

* * *

Hikari was shaken out of her reminiscing from an alarm sounding. "Serpentine have been spotted at Mega Monster Amusement Park!" Nya cried out.

Hikari tilted her head as the ninja all started discussing what to do, before going to go find Lloyd.

She found him sitting in her room eating from her bucket of Swedish Fish. There were already six wrappers on the ground.

She giggled. "I said you could have _one_ Lloyd. But now that you're eating them..." A mischievous sparkle entered her gray eyes, and she made a swiping motion for the small bucket. "Gimme it!"

Lloyd jumped up and held it out of her reach, grinning as he ate another one. "Nope."

Hikari pouted before realizing he was vulnerable and poking him in the side. He recoiled slightly, laughing as she jumped for it, arms outstretched. This unbalanced them both and knocked him onto his back. The bucket rolled away as Lloyd quickly flipped her over, and the two of them laughed.

It only took them a second or two to realize that he was almost on top of her, pinning her wrists to the floor, and his knees were on either side of her. A hot red blush came over Hikari's cheeks, and Lloyd was also blushing, his green eyes wide with surprise. He quickly released her wrists and jumped back, Hikari sitting back up.

"..."

"..."

Both of them were silent, before Lloyd rubbed the back of his head. "Let's not tell the others about this, h-huh?"

Hikari blinked. "Tell them about what?"

He was about to elaborate before noticing the mischievous sparkle in her eye and smirked. "Oh, haha. You're hilarious."

"Thank you, thank you," Hikari joked, dramatically waving her hands in the air. Lloyd snorted with laughter.

* * *

The two of them were reading Starfarer- well, Lloyd was and reading it out loud dramatically while Hikari laughed at the voices he did- when Kai came in. "Hey. It's my turn to watch you two, so come on."

Curiously, the two of them followed onto Kai's big motorbike. He drove through the city before letting them down at the Kiddie Arcade. Lloyd frowned as Kai gave them both a few dollars. "Aw, c'mon- at least drop us off at a decent arcade!" he complained.

"Sorry kid. Cole'll be back to pick you up in a couple of hours," Kai shouted as he drove off. Lloyd sighed and was about to go in, when he froze. "Issss thissss the busssss to Ouroborosssss?" Serpentine!

Lloyd looked around before noticing two snake disguises- one was a Hypnobrai outfit, and the other was an Anacondrai outfit. Lloyd looked at Hikari. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he whispered.

Hikari had been listening to the Serpentine's conversation with a look of apprehension, but she followed Lloyd's gaze. She sighed when she saw what he was pointing at. "Oh no..."

Within two minutes, Lloyd looked like a Hypnobrai, and Hikari looked a bit like an Anacondrai. The two of them walked onto the bus, holding each other's hands.

"Hey!" The bus driver snapped. The two of them froze, their grip on each other's hands tightening.

"Lassssttttt one on clossssessss the door," the bus driver said smugly. Hikari relaxed. "Oh... okay," she said, "ssssssure." She tried to hiss on her s's like the Serpentine did and did a remarkably good job as she shut the door.

After a long bus drive, the Serpentine- including Hikari and Lloyd- came off the bus into an old city, filled with Serpentine. Hikari couldn't help but shiver, and Lloyd took her hand comfortingly.

They stepped into the stands, watching Pythor fight the other tribes. He only stood there, before pulling out the Sacred Flute and playing it. Every snake in the area flinched and winced from the beautiful flute music, as Lloyd gasped. "He used the Sacred Flute on his own kind?"

"SERPENTINE!" shouted Pythor, after all the leaders tossed their staffs onto the floor. "BOW TO YOUR LEADER!"

As they all attempted to bow, Lloyd's hands suddenly slipped, and the rattles fell out of his hands. "Intruder!" hissed one of the snakes, and one of them grabbed Lloyd. "Lloyd-!" Hikari quickly tried to stop the words that slipped out of her mouth, but it was too late. Another Serpentine grabbed her, and they carried the two of them down to Pythor. "Well, well, look who it is... Lloyd... and oh my, the little girl..."

Pythor moved his tail so that it stroked Hikari's face. Hikari's eyes were wide with terror, but she managed to flinch away from his touch. "Hmm... now, what to do with you...?"

* * *

"Where are my nephew and his friend? Kai, weren't you in charge of them?" Sensei Wu asked, frowning. Kai looked uncomfortable, but he looked at Cole. "I thought Cole was gonna pick them up."

"Didn't see them. Maybe Jay-" Cole was cut off by Jay throwing his hands in the air. "No way are you pinning this on me; I babysat yesterday."

"Well, we must find them," Sensei Wu told them, frowning seriously.

They reached the arcade, and quickly watched some security footage. Lloyd and Hikari bought some Serpentine disguises, and then walked into a nearby alley. Going into the alley, they found bus tracks leading into the desert.

"C'mon- we've got to find them," Kai said, summoning his motorbike and revving the engine.

They followed the bus tracks on the ground, and reached the old city in the desert, hearing sounds and cheers. "This city wasn't here yesterday, was it?" asked Jay. Zane shook his head. "Not that I am aware of..."

They poked their heads around a corner, peeking into the huge stadium-like area. There was a cage hanging near a huge statue- with Hikari and Lloyd inside.

"Lloyd! Hikari!" Kai shouted, as all of the ninja charged in.

Hikari's head was hanging as she sat in the cage, but her head jerked up when she heard Kai's voice. "Kai! Don't, it's a-" She was cut off as another cage fell on top of them, knocking their weapons from their hands. "... trap," she weakly finished.

All of the Serpentine focused on the ninja, as the Samurai- Nya- was forced to step out and fight the ninja. Lloyd looked around and noticed no one was looking at them. He also noticed that Hikari's slight, slim build might actually benefit them in this case...

"Hikari," he whispered. Hikari was watching the ninja and the Samurai fight with a dismayed look on her face, but she turned to face him. "Yeah Lloyd?"

"You're thin enough to go through the bars- try to help the ninja; and maybe they can get us out-" Lloyd was cut off by Hikari's distressed whisper. "But what if they can't?! What if I get out and then we have to run!? I'm not leaving you! You're my first friend..." Her lip actually started to tremble, but Lloyd put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine. After all, my dad's Lord Garmadon- I'm sure I can handle a couple of snakes," Lloyd assured her, smirking. Despite herself, Hikari's trembling lip curved into a smile. "Just try- we won't know until we try, will we?"

"... okay." It came out as a shy whisper, but he heard it as Hikari turned herself sideways and carefully squeezed out between the bars. It took her a minute or two, but she managed to it. The minute she did, she landed on her hands and knees, just as Cole used earth to try to knock the Samurai away.

The ground beneath her hands seemed to crumble and darken, before she blinked and it went away, the slight, brown-black glow fading.

Standing up, she fidgeted before rushing towards the ninja. A loud shout arose as a Serpentine noticed her. "The girl! Sssssshhe's getttttttting away!"

Hands grabbed for her, but Hikari managed to dodge onto the field- just as it started tilting. She started sliding, as all the ninja jumped onto the Samurai's exo suit. She let out a slight cry, before remembering what had just happened. Maybe, just maybe...

She slammed her hands into the earth, and the dirt beneath her hands hardened into rock into her grip, leaving bare handholds for her to cling to. The exo suit suddenly took off, and a hand snagged her back. "Ah-!" she cried out, looking down, her eyes widening. "Wh-what about Lloyd?!" she cried out.

"We're not prepared for a fight like this- we've got to get out of here first!" shouted Kai, just as the exo-suit started to balk. "There's too much weight!" shouted Jay. The Samurai- Nya- quickly released herself and jumped down to face the Serpentine.

"Aw, I can't believe he saved us again!" Jay complained. Kai pulled Hikari closer. Hikari's lip was trembling, tears filling her eyes. "Hika-" He began, but she buried her face into his chest, crying softly.

"Hey, is Hikari okay?" Cole asked, still clinging onto the suit tightly. Kai looked down at her and sighed. "I think maybe it's cause we left Lloyd behind..."

"I can get that- they're really close," Jay said, his eyes softening in understanding.

Suddenly, the suit started to fall, and this sudden motion made all of their hands loosen. "AHHHHHH!" they yelled as they fell, Kai falling in a different direction and clinging onto Hikari.

They landed in a sandy patch, the Samurai nearby. Nya loosened the helmet and pulled it off. "Nya?!" Kai blurted out.

Nya glanced over her shoulder and put the helmet back on. "Stay away, ninja, don't look..." Her voice faltered, and she took the helmet off again. "At me," she finished.

"YOU'RE the Samurai? I don't... get it."

"Girl power," Nya joked, punching him on the shoulder. "I was tired of not being able to help. So I helped in my own way."

She looked down at Hikari, whose eyes were shadowed. "Is she okay...?"

"I think she's upset because we left Lloyd behind."

Nya frowned. "Oh." She knelt down. "Hey, Hikari... I'm sorry we left Lloyd behind. But I couldn't save him... I promise we'll go back for him as soon as we can, okay?"

Hikari didn't stop, tears still coming down her cheeks. She just nodded simply. Nya smiled weakly. "Hikari, he's tough- he'll be okay, I promise."

Hikari just nodded again. Nya sighed and handed Kai the Golden Weapons. Kai smiled at her. "I promise I won't tell the others about who the Samurai is."

Nya smiled at her brother, her eyes crinkling up. "Thanks, Kai."

Then she pressed a button on her outfit. The exo suit flew over, and she quickly jumped in and flew away again.

Kai walked over and waved at Jay, Cole, and Zane. "Hey guys! Over here!" he shouted.

* * *

"Iron sharpens iron, and sibling sharpens sibling," Sensei Wu said, with a cryptic smile, and walked away. Nya smiled and walked into her room, where Hikari was huddled under her blanket.

Nya's eyes went sad, the sharp amber softening, and she placed her hand on Hikari's forehead before going to bed.

Back in Ouroboros, Lloyd sighed. Hikari was okay, at least... she was with the ninja. And she could definitely handle herself... at least, he hoped.

"Don't worry Hikari... I'll be fine," he mumbled, even though there was no way Hikari could hear him.

On the Bounty, a single tear rolled down Hikari's cheek in the silence.

 **A/N: And here we go; sixth chapter done. I hope you liked it!**

 **MMM: No spoilers. XD**

 **GamerGirl597: I'm glad you liked it!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	7. Chapter 7

_Hikari blinked up. Something hot and dark and sticky was all over the floor, and it smelled a little metallic. Hikari didn't touch it- what if it was dangerous? There was no one there- but only a moment ago, she'd heard her mommy screaming?_

 _"Mommy," she called, wandering forward a bit. "Daddy?"_

 _A pair of eyes glowed through the darkness at her, a pale green, almost like celery. Hikari jumped a bit, before edging forward. "Hello?" she called out._

 _The figure stepped forward a bit more, the only other thing visible the shining knife in his hand, dripping with the dark substance._

 _In the deepest edges of her memory, she knew that the stuff on the floor, the stuff on the knife..._

 _She knew it was blood._

 _Hikari looked up at the figure, whose eyes looked down at her as well._

 _"Sorry. They wouldn't let me get to you, and... well..."_

 _He raised the knife. "I was hired to do this."_

 _Hikari blinked. In the past, she didn't understand- after all, she'd only been five or six. "Mister? What are you doing?"_

 _She stepped back a bit to get a better view, the knife plunging down only inches from her face, right where she'd been standing only moments before. She cried out and fell onto her bottom._

 _Hikari's breath caught in her breath. "What- why- d-did I do something wrong, Mister?!" she cried out, looking into the almost regretful pale green eyes. "Why are you trying to hurt me...?"_

 _The man stopped, the blade dropping to his side quietly. Hikari backed away, her arms and legs scrabbling to get her away, when two things hit her hand._

 _The basement door._

 _And a spray can._

 _Hikari's hand slowly reached for it, picking up the spray can as she prepared to run into the basement as the man spoke again, quietly, as he knelt down so he was closer to her. "Sorry sweetheart... but I have a job to do."_

 _Hikari brought the spray can around and squirted it, sending a fine mist of... something, right into his right eye. He yelled and stumbled back a moment, and Hikari made her move. Swinging around, she yanked open the basement door, and slammed it shut, locking it from the inside. Banging was on the door, before another one; but the door was thick and well made and it held the man's weight._

 _She fled down the steps, but her foot caught- she tumbled forward-_

 _Hikari hit her head, and she didn't remember anything after that._

* * *

Hikari cried out and sat up straight, eyes widening.

That memory...

She suddenly recalled it. She could _remember_ it. She remembered how she'd ended up in that basement...

But why now?

She looked around and realized the room was empty and the sun was slanting in- she must've been asleep for quite a while, then. Getting up, she didn't change- she hadn't bothered changing- and wandered out of the room.

Hikari wandered onto the deck and ran face first into someone, falling backwards. Looking up, she saw Zane. "Oh- I'm sorry, Hikari; are you all right?" he apologized, holding his hand out to her. Hikari took it and let him pull her upright. "Hi Zane. Yeah, I'm okay," she said softly.

The ninja all shared a slightly worried look as she let go of his hand. Since Lloyd'd been kidnapped, her silvery eyes had lost their bright spark, and Hikari was almost so quiet it was discomfiting. Kai ruffled her hair, making her look up at him slightly.

"Hey, short stack- wanna go see Sensei Wu with us?" he asked, smiling. His smile twisted to one side slightly, looking a bit like he was smirking. Hikari shrugged a bit, her eyes looking almost apathetic. "Okay," she said.

The ninja walked down the hallway, all chatting about how strong they were. Hikari wasn't even paying attention, watching them walk down the hallway, thinking about her memory...

"Sensei, we wanted to ask-" Cole suddenly stopped, and Hikari looked up to see them all bowing. She slightly did the same as Zane said, "Pardon us, Sensei. We've disturbed you."

Sensei Wu turned to all five of them, quickly replying, "I apologize if I've been... distant lately. Losing Lloyd was quite... distracting, especially for a few of us." He met Hikari's silver eyes before looking back at them. "What did you need me for?"

"Sensei, we were wondering; what if this was it? What if we've reached our true potential?" Cole asked, to which Sensei Wu huffed. It was almost relieving, to see him act more like the old Sensei Wu. "You may have reached your peak _physical_ condition, but you haven't even begun to unlock your true potential. You must overcome obstacles of the mind in order to reach your true potential. I, too, have obstacles in my mind..." Sensei Wu drifted off, and Zane prompted, "There's something you're not telling us, isn't there, Sensei?"

As Sensei Wu began to speak, Hikari wandered off again, until she was on the deck. The sparring robot was on the deck. Jay had told Hikari that the robot was permanently damaged from whatever Lloyd had done to it; so it was permanently stuck on it's most difficult... uh, difficulty.

She squeezed her eyes shut at the memory of Lloyd grinning and snickering behind Jay's back as Jay told her this with a vexed look, before opening them again.

Hikari pressed the 'on' switch.

The robot came to life, and Hikari picked up a large stick from nearby. She glared at the robot, trying to imagine it as her worst enemy. It was a tug of war between the man with the pale eyes and the Serpentine, but she settled for the Serpentine because they were a more immediate threat.

She swung the stick, and the robot dodged before hitting her with one of the weapons. Hikari was knocked towards the edge of the deck, but she managed to get up and charge at the robot.

A few attempts later, Hikari was engaged in a fierce flurry of blows, blocking them the best she could with her stick. As one of the weapons caught the stick and cracked it, flinging it from her grasp, Hikari's fist crackled with tongues of red lightning as she punched forward, trying to hit it.

The electricity crackled out as she hit it, engulfing the robot. It's mechanical workings were visible for a moment, before smoke started puffing out of the robot's cracks and it clanked to the ground. It wasn't completely dead though; the weapons were spinning wildly. One scythe went whistling right at Hikari's head as she turned to face it.

Her eyes widened and she cried out, throwing up her arms, waiting for the blow to hit. A slight, crackling sound sounded, and Hikari's eyes eked open to see the robot encased in dark blue-and-black ice, the entire thing frozen solid as the edge of the scythe came only inches from her face.

"Woah."

Hikari turned to see all four ninja and Sensei Wu regarding her in surprise. She blinked. Sensei Wu cleared his throat. "As I said to the ninja earlier, Hikari; I need to go find someone to help me find Lloyd. The ninja will continue their training... and perhaps oversee yours."

Hikari nodded, plainly. "Okay."

* * *

"This is silly," Zane complained as they put up some posters for the Missing Fangblades up on the wall. Hikari simply toted posters around, since she was too small to put them up anywhere. Kai glared at him jokingly. "You have any better ideas?"

"Huh, maybe the mysterious Samurai could help us find them," Jay said offhandedly. Hikari impulsively looked at Kai and Nya, who looked panicked. "Uh, I'm sure she- I mean he's looking for them too."

Zane moved to put one up, when he stopped. His head tilted up to stare at something, and the posters in his arms dropped out. Hikari quickly went to pick them up, but snuck a look out of curiosity. There was a large, black bird flying about in the sky.

"Hey! Your friend just littered all over my shopfront!" a shopkeeper snapped. Hikari quickly picked up the posters. "Sorry mister!" she said, staring up at him with big, innocent eyes.

That move did the trick as the shopkeeper grumbled slightly and glanced away. "He'd better not do it again," the man mumbled, but he patted Hikari on the head before going back into his shop.

"The advantages of being cute," said Cole with an amused shake of the head. Zane pointed up. "Look... it is the falcon.."

"Oh! That's big! Something BIG happens every time that bird comes around!" gasped Jay, clapping his hands a bit in excitement. "He might even have found the Fangblade!"

"Okay, Hikari, you go back with Nya, me and the guys are gonna-" Kai was cut off as Hikari gave him puppy eyes. "I wanna come," she whined playfully. Kai stared and tried to avoid the gaze, but something seemed to draw his eyes to hers. Another moment passed before he nodded. "Fine," he sighed. Hikari smiled and hopped onto Kai's back.

The five of them all ran with the falcon, Jay dropping out on a large mountain with lots of rocks and Cole on a large tree trunk, panting. So finally, it was just Hikari and Kai and Zane.

Kai knelt down, panting, as Hikari crawled down. Zane was scratching his head as he read a sign that read 'Beware of Treehorns'. "I am not familiar with a Treehorn," he said, frowning. Kai wheezed a bit. "Probably just some wild squirrels."

Despite herself, Hikari giggled, and Kai gave her a slightly pleased look before waving them on. "You guys go ahead.. I'll just wait for the others," he panted.

Hikari puffed along after Zane, her eyes up on the falcon as she followed right behind Zane. Suddenly, the falcon sparked, balked in midair, and then fell towards the ground.

Hikari sped up a bit and caught the bird, sliding through the wet snow to do so. When she popped out of her snowdrift, she had a pile of snow covering her head and decorating her long strands of ebony hair for a hat. Zane picked up the falcon, his eyes growing surprised. "It is... a robot?"

Holding the falcon, the two of them wandered about, Zane musing to the falcon, "Where have you taken me, my mysterious friend?"

Hikari walked along for another step or two before freezing midstep. Her silvery eyes widened, and she started looking around.

"Hikari, look out!"

Hikari turned to see a large robot coming at her, it's eyes heating up. She lunged sideways, lasers barely missing her. Zane set the falcon down and charged at it, jumping onto it's back and hacking at the wires with his Shurikens. The robot spun around and slammed it's arm into Zane, knocking him off into the snow next to Hikari with a grunt.

Hikari's eyes flashed a dark, dark blue. "Don't... _touch... **my friend!"**_ she yelled, and she lashed out with her hand.

That tiny motion shouldn't have done anything more than look impressive, but as she yelled icicles suddenly snapped off of the spindly, dark branches, formed in the snow on the ground, appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the air, and plunged straight at the robot. The icicles shattered upon impact, but Zane had the feeling that if that was a human the human would be lying on the ground bleeding to death. As the robot turned to face her, a single icicle snapped the wire Zane had been hacking at.

The robot buzzed before falling to the ground, a soft metallic thud the only audible indication. Hikari's breathing was shallow, her pupils were oddly dilated, and she stared blankly at the robot. Zane frowned at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hikari? Are you all right?"

It was as though a switch had turned back on, and Hikari innocently looked up at him. "What... yeah, I'm okay. But... something's..."

She shrugged off the hand on her shoulder and moved as though she were magnetically attracted, towards a tree with a large door built in. Walking in, Zane had to almost jog to keep up with the quick pace. Down a flight of spiral stairs, and she stopped at the bottom, looking around in a daze.

"Hikari? Have you been here before?" Zane asked, frowning. Hikari shook her head, and closed her eyes. A blurry picture was in front of her, but she couldn't make it out for the life of her. "Someone died here..." she mumbled, wandering the room a bit more. Zane's head jerked up, but she ignored it as she continued, dazedly, "There's... something different about it though... I don't know what is different about it..."

Zane looked around and found some blueprints. He fixed the falcon as Hikari stared. No matter how hard she tried, though, the picture remained stubbornly blurry, and it seemed to be covered in a white-blue film, barely visible over the scene. Well; at first it was pale blue. Then it was red, and then gray, and then light blue, then white-blue again.

Suddenly a cry. Hikari turned to see Zane fall to his knees. "Zane? Zane?!" she exclaimed, rushing over. "What happened...?" Her voice trailed off as she saw what he was looking at. "Oh. Ohh no..."

* * *

Jay and the others watched as Zane moved his hand to the other side of his torso... and...

It swung open.

"AGHHH!" All three guys yelled. Hikari watched quietly, her eyes clouded over with puzzled thought. "You're- A ROBOT?!" Kai blurted out. Zane shrugged slightly, his expression unreadable. "All this time... and I never knew."

Hikari turned away as the other ninja tried to make him feel better, staring throughout the room. Her eyes suddenly lighted on something nearby, and she walked to it. Touching it, she carefully blew the dust off of it, sending a little plume of it flying off. Moving her hands forward, she pulled it towards her. It was a photo of a relatively old man with Zane and the falcon.

She walked back over and tugged on Zane's sleeve. Zane looked down as Hikari held the photograph up to him. Zane frowned. "What is this, Hikari?" he asked, taking it from her. Looking at it, his eyes widened. "Where did you...?"

Hikari innocently pointed at the shelf nearby, and Zane quietly set the photograph on the table next to him, staring at it. "I'm not sure I can leave... I need some time alone," he said quietly.

The three guys frowned, but Hikari nodded. "Okay, I get it," she said, before grabbing Kai's hand. "Come ON, Kai."

Back at the top of the staircase, Kai frowned a bit. "Now what?"

"I'm sure Zane will be okay in a minute... but right- what was that?" Jay asked, looking off in a direction. Hikari turned to see a tree moving. "Uh, the tree just-" Her head tilted back, and her eyes bugged out WIDE as she saw a large, grotesque head looking down at them.

Cole voiced what she was thinking. "WHAT is THAT?!"

"Hey, Kai, y'know that sign that said something about Treehorns earlier? I'm thinking this is a Treehorn!" Hikari whimpered, backing away.

Something sent her flying a couple of feet away, and she yelped as she landed on her stomach, the cold snow making it's way into her sweater and scraping her stomach. Looking over her shoulder, she yelped. "Look out!"

All three of them got out of the way as a huge foot slammed down into the snow where they'd been clustered together. The slight victory didn't last long as all the other ninja were knocked to the side, up, down, left, right-

" **LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!** "

Hikari looked up from her spot in the snow as Zane charged forward, throwing his mask on. He Spinjitzued Kai, Jay, and Cole out of the area as a HUGE Treehorn came in. "What's that?!" Jay exclaimed, backing up in a panicked fashion.

"The queen," Zane muttered.

Stepping forward, his eyes started glowing a pale, silvery blue. "Don't think I can't defeat you!" he yelled, pulling out his shurikens. An icy hot feeling crept through Hikari, making her shiver slightly. "I have nothing holding me back! **I know who I am!** " The last sentence he shouted echoed, as though multiple voices were speaking at the same time.

He started to rise into the air, and Hikari's eyes widened a bit. The scene from before flashed into her mind, the white-blue film shattering and revealing the only clear thing, a pale sort of aura fading around one of the blurry figures in the image.

She frowned as her arm glowed, but everyone's eyes were fixed onto Zane as a huge ice beam fired from his chest, freezing the Treehorn Queen solid, before he dropped to the ground, the glow fading as he landed. "What happened...?" Zane muttered, just as Jay almost screamed with excitement, "THAT-WAS-AWESOME!"

"You just got your true potential dude- that was AWESOME!" yelled Kai in excitement. Zane smiled slightly, and he said, "If we all find our true potential soon, we will find Pythor- and we won't have any trouble defeating him."

As the other ninja cheered, Hikari frowned.

She was sure that something significant had happened; but she couldn't really know _what._

At least, not yet.

 **A/N: So... yeah. Here's this chapter. I am sorry for skipping the story of Sensei's past, but I didn't really want to be too repetitive, since I think we all know it, so I just left it out.**

 **Shoutout to Ninja Kitten on Quotev for noticing a very small mistake in Chapter 2!**

 **Toodles!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	8. Chapter 8

Hikari ran face first into someone and fell on her bottom, none too delicately I must add. "Ow!" she yelped a bit, and Jay reached down to help her up. "Oh, sorry Hikari! Wasn't watching where I was going, but guess what?"

"What?" Hikari asked, as Jay fidgeted with his hands, shuffled his feet, with this look on his face. Either he was really excited about something... or he really needed to use the bathroom. Both options were perfectly viable.

"I asked Nya out and she said yes! WOOHOO!" Jay jumped into the air and pumped his fist. He was so loud Hikari was almost positive they could hear him in Jamanakai Village, but she still beamed and applauded. When Jay had calmed down a bit, she said, still smiling innocently, "That's great Jay! ... what does it mean to ask someone out?"

Jay laughed a bit nervously, rubbing his head. "Oh yeah; you're eight. Asking someone out is like... uh... asking someone if they'll go on a date with you."

"What's a date?" Hikari asked innocently.

"A date's where you are romantically involved with someone and go out to do something," Jay said, scratching his head.

"Oh, so you and Nya are married now?"

Jay went bright red at Hikari's casual statement and began to stammer out a response, before noticing the mischievous twinkle in her eyes and the way her mouth was twitching slightly at the corners. He crossed his arms and pouted childishly. "You were just teasing me, weren't you?"

"No, I was actually being honest until your definition of 'date', and then I just thought it'd be funny to see your reaction," Hikari responded, with a sheepish little giggle. Jay rolled his eyes a bit, still cherry red, before continuing down the hallway. Halfway down, he turned back to Hikari, who was continuing to the control room, and yelled to her, "Lloyd and Hikari, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Hikari let out a little squeak of embarrassment and fled to the control room, while Jay smirked and kept going.

* * *

Jay walked into the control room, wearing gloves and a scarf over a suit. Hikari raised her eyebrows- it was a very nice summer day and was actually quite warm- but said nothing. Perhaps it was just some sort of an odd fashion statement.

"Where are you going all dressed up?" Cole asked with a smirk, leaning against the control console. Jay smiled at Cole, slightly smugly. "I'm going out with Nya today."

Kai's brow furrowed as he stared at the computer screen. "Ah, you might wanna change your plans- Serpentine were spotted at Mega Monster Amusement Park. And chances are they aren't there to have fun."

"That must be where the first Fangblade is!" Jay exclaimed, before his expression went a bit worried. "Ohhh... but my date with Nya..."

"Dude, if Pythor gets all four Fangblades he'll be able to wake up the Great Devourer! Get your priorities straight, man," Kai said, looking slightly disgruntled.

Hikari was sitting on the table and watching this exchange, before she very mildly asked Jay, "Couldn't you change the date place to Mega Monster Amusement Park instead? This way you can keep an eye on the Serpentine and still have your date."

Jay's electric-blue eyes practically lit up, and he ran and hugged Hikari. Hikari tensed- the only person that usually hugged her was Lloyd- before relaxing into his tight grip a bit. "Hikari you are a genius and you're my favorite person ever!" Jay ranted-

"Shouldn't you go let Nya know that you changed the date area?" Hikari eked out- Jay was squeezing her very tightly.

He dropped her (literally, he just suddenly let go and Hikari fell onto the floor with a thud) and yelped, "Right!" As he turned and ran for the door, Hikari caught a glimpse of green, scaly skin under his glove.

And then he was gone, out the door.

* * *

Hikari was with the others (except Nya and Jay, they were on their date) at Mega Monster Amusement Park, looking out for Serpentine. Hikari was looking around when she saw tons of people screaming and running out of a ride.

"Hold on a second- that ride was never scary before!" Cole exclaimed. Zane's eyes narrowed. "Venomari," he stated simply, before running in. Hikari stayed in the area nearby- if any Serpentine got past them, she could try to stop them. Effective word being _try_ , she still wasn't sure how her powers worked.

Not even three minutes passed before all the Serpentine came streaming out of the tunnel. Hikari's eyes widened, and she ran towards the area where Jay and Nya were having their date. When she opened the door to the restaurant, she saw all of the customers crowded around a figure in the corner- Jay!

"Jay!" she shouted, waving wildly. He noticed her and tried to crawl out of the mob to get to her, but they beat him back. Hikari's eyes narrowed. She could see his hand being green and slightly scaly... and his face was green and scaly, and he had little fangs poking out of his mouth.

That meant a Fangpyre had bitten him? How, there was no-

Hikari remembered that Fangpyre skeleton in the control room. There had been a slight amount of green venom on the floor... could Jay have pricked himself on one of the teeth?

Why was she worrying about this now!? She needed Jay's help to get rid of the Serpentine!

"Hey, stop it... he's not bad..." She tried to get the crowd's attention, but they ignored her or pushed her away. Hikari's gray eyes flickered with annoyance- right in the center- and she screamed, " _ **STOP IT!**_ "

She stomped her foot, and a spurt of lightning flickered between her foot to the floor to the group of people. They all jumped away like they'd gotten a nasty electric shock, and Jay took the opportunity to weave his way through them to Hikari, who grabbed his hand and started to practically skip out of the door. "C'mon c'mon c'mon," she said, looking panicked, and Jay followed.

Once outside, they noticed a small crowd of Serpentine nearby, and Jay's eyes narrowed. "Hey!" He grabbed his nunchucks and started spinning them through the air...

... only to stop when all of the Serpentine burst into laughter. "What's the matter? Cat got your tail?" Pythor laughed, and Hikari looked to see that, yes, Jay had a little green tail poking through his suit. She put a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggle, but the tiniest _hint_ of it still made it out of her mouth.

"Help!" Nya shouted from nearby. She was tied to a roller coaster car with chains, and Jay gasped. "Nya-!"

Hikari shoved him at the roller coaster. "You help Nya! I'll... fight these snakes," Hikari ordered him, and Jay wasted no time in running off to help Nya.

Pythor's chuckles died down, and he smiled wickedly at Hikari. "Oh my, dear, you don't REALLY think you can beat me?"

Hikari took a deep breath, searching for a reason to get angry. She didn't panic or worry too much over logic when she was angry.

They took Lloyd.

They took her best friend from her, and up until recently her _only_ friend.

That was reason enough.

Her face darkened, and she ran right at him. _"Let Lloyd go!_ " she yelled. Her eyes suddenly glowed again, but this time the glow lasted a little longer as she charged forward. Where her foot touched the ground, the earth crumbled and cracked, and little bits of swirling, black and dark brown earth surrounded her as she hit him.

The entire ground shot up suddenly, a huge rock hitting Pythor right in the chest and knocking him back several feet.

" _Let my friend go!_ " She wasn't thinking, wasn't considering anything- just running straight at them. A few Serpentine came forward, and ice spread out from her foot, webbing the ground and making several of the Serpentine slip. Several ice spikes shot out of the ground, nearly impaling some of the Serpentine.

A poor Constrictai grabbed her, and she whipped right around and punched him in the face, just as a freezing-water sensation flared into her hand.

Ghostly black and red and purple flames exploded off of her fist, and consumed the Constrictai. For a moment he was frozen as his entire body withered before ashes blew away in the next slight breeze.

The rest of the Serpentine were more hesitant to come near Hikari now. Her usually silvery gray eyes looked almost insane, with purple throbbing out from the pupil and her face set in a slight snarl.

"... retreat," ordered Pythor, backing away, before all of the Serpentine quickly fled the scene.

The purple in her eyes faded away, and Hikari stumbled and fell against a wall slightly, looking for Jay. He was glowing and pushing on the roller coaster car before it reached a break in the tracks, stopping only a little away from it.

Hikari panted and shook her head with a little smile. _Whew._

* * *

"We still have an opportunity to get three other Fangblades; so I think we're good for now," said Kai, before looking at Hikari. When Nya and Jay had safely gotten off of the roller coaster (and the other ninja freed themselves from a wall of ice) they'd found Hikari curled up in a ball against a wall ( **A/N: Hey that rhymed** ), surrounded by a lot of destruction. The ground looked as though it were about to cave in, ice spikes were stabbing outwards, and a little bit of fire burned.

Hikari was now sleeping slightly, leaning against Cole as though he were a pillow. Her eyes were shut, and her mouth was slightly open. She actually looked really cute right there.

Everything flashed, and the ninja were all standing around a sleeping Hikari, except she was wearing a little white nightgown against a green sofa. Then another flash and she was sleeping against a dark, shadowed wall in the same position, but wearing her usual pink sweater and gray pants. Then they were back on the cliff outside of Mega Monster Amusement Park, as though nothing had happened.

"What just happened?" Jay voiced what everyone was thinking.

Zane frowned down at Hikari. "... I'm not sure."

 **A/N: Whew, and this chapter is done! Sorry this one's shorter; it's just not a very action-packed chapter for the others.**

 **Responses to commenters (both Quotev and Fanfiction)**

 **Dream Lighting (both): Aw thanks! yeah i'm only planning to go up to Season 5 though, so quick warning there.**

 **Trumpet Player (Quotev): You're welcome!**

 **Ninja Kitten (Quotev): Haha yep.**

 **GamerGirl597: Here's the update!**

 **MissKitty2004: Wow, thanks!**

 **MMM: you'll find out the answer to the second question next chapter ;D**

 **Lunacaster: Cool!**

 **See ya next time!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	9. Chapter 9

"Pythor has two of the Fangblades, but we only need one to stop him. So the question is, where are they?" Nya said, thoughtfully. Jay put an arm around his girlfriend, smiling. "Is anyone else just _blown away_ by the fact that Nya was the mysterious Samurai? Huh?" Jay asked.

Hikari was sitting on the table as Kai snapped, with a disgruntled tone to his voice, "We're over that. Can we move on?"

"Ooh, looks like someone's a little hot under the collar!" Jay said, grinning at Kai. Kai's mouth was small as he showed his teeth in a slight growl.

"It appears the source of Kai's impatience is that he has not found his true potential, like you and I have, Jay," Zane responded evenly. Kai crossed his arms petulantly, like a small child. "Nice observation, Mr. Roboto, but Cole hasn't found it either!" Hikari smiled slightly. Right. Very mature, Kai.

Cole chose the PERFECT moment to suddenly shout, throwing up his arms in excitement, "I've GOT it!"

"You've _unlocked_ it?! Ohhh why am I the only one?!" Kai complained, but Cole cut him off. "No, not _that-_ I realized where I recognized the Fangblade!" Cole said, running out of the control room, "I have a _picture_ of it!"

Kai relaxed. "Oh. Is that it. Oh, good."

Hikari shook her head in amusement. "Kai, you're a good at least EIGHT years older than me, yet I think I'm still more mature than you are," she said, cheerfully. "Especially her language," Zane added.

Kai glared at her jokingly as Cole returned with a photo album. He set it down on the table and flipped it open, whereupon Jay snatched it to take a look. "Oh- THAT'S IT!" he yelled. Hikari hopped off the table and went over to where everyone was gathering, barely able to peep over at the picture.

"Back where I grew up, there's this BIG competition, where every year, the winner gets the Blade Cup," Cole said with a big smile on his face. "My dad's won it multiple times."

"You never told us your father was an accomplished athlete," said Zane mildly. "What sport?"

"Oh, he's an uh, blacksmith," Cole said, suddenly seeming uncomfortable. Kai shrugged, not seeing why Cole was so uncomfortable. Hikari was frustrated from not being able to see it, so she actually climbed up onto the table to look at it as Kai spoke. "Nothing wrong with that; my father was a blacksmith too. But I've never heard of a competition-"

"That's because he's not a, blacksmith blacksmith, he's a... Royal, Blacksmith," Cole interjected, getting up and turning the page to show a man with a small mustache and graying hair holding the Blade Cup. Several snickers from the guys as Jay sniggered, "That's your dad?"

Kai had a funny look on his face as he turned to ask Cole, "But how did the Fangblade become a trophy?"

Cole shrugged. "Supposedly, the Blade Cup was made by this guy who collected priceless artifacts. His name was something like, uh... Dutch... no, Clutch! Clutch Powers," he said, before walking off a bit. "Anyway, it get passed on to this year's winner."

"So who has it now?" asked Zane pleasantly. Cole looked uncomfortable again. "I dunno. I haven't talked to my father in years."

"Well, then we'll call him up," said Kai, just as Cole burst out, "YOU CAN'T! He, uh... thinks I'm in Ninjago City, training at the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts."

He took ahold of the steering wheel, shifting his weight as he spoke, no longer facing them. "He wanted me to follow in his footsteps... but when I couldn't sing or dance, I ran away. When he sees I can't dance, he'll know I'll be lying in all the letters I've been sending him."

"He _doesn't know_ you're a ninja?" Zane inquired. Cole whipped back to them, looking irritated. "What, you gonna crack some joke about how my old man wears a tutu?"

"No," Kai responded, going over and putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "but if we're going to have any chance of getting that Fangblade before they do, we'd better get our own act in tune!"

* * *

Nya was heading back to her room when she heard faint music... coming from her room? It was sung by one of the clearest, sweetest voices Nya'd ever heard.

 _"I've been watching your kindness  
keep a lonely company  
Look at the fire  
and think of me..."  
_

Nya liked it, but she was pretty sure she hadn't left the radio on or anything. Although, to be honest she couldn't hear any background music. Maybe it was an acapella cover or something?

 _"I've been watching you creep around  
my wandering feet  
trying for years  
to flee..."_

Nya frowned as she opened the door, her slightly puzzled expression turning into a wide-eyed one. She was kinda glad the ship was still flying and all the ninja were preoccupied.

It was Hikari. Hikari was singing very softly, but her head was nodding around as she sang.

 _"I need not one thing more  
oh wrap the ground around  
your gentle winding mind  
oh guard the pounding sound..."_

Nya stood there, completely enraptured in the singing.

 _Breathe in your fiery air  
oh wrap the ground around  
give back an hungrier stare  
oh guard the pounding sound..._

You'll be the moon  
I'll be the earth  
and when we burst  
start over  
oh darling  
begin again  
begin again  
begin again..."

The moment Hikari's voice stopped, Nya stepped into the room and applauded. Hikari literally jumped three inches into the air as she turned around. "Oh, hi Nya!" she said, looking wide-eyed.

"You're really good at this, Hikari!" Nya said with a lopsided grin. "Maybe you could go to the competition with the ninja; I'm sure they'd let you come along!"

Hikari frowned slightly, shuffling her feet. "... but I've never sung in public before..."

"C'mon! It'll be fine. Plus, nothing could go wrong there!"

Hikari shuffled her feet again before finally sighing. "Okay, but only because you said so..."

* * *

The ninja all landed in the middle of the town, Hikari's arms wrapped around Cole's waist. She and Nya had easily convinced the guys that she could come with them; since there didn't seem to be any problem. "All right, hand 'em over," said Cole, holding up what looked like an instrument case but really was to hold all four of the Golden Weapons.

"Ah-ah, but no mortal shall possess all four," teased Jay, sticking his nunchucks in anyways.

"Very funny," said Cole as Hikari clambered down. Kai smirked as he stuck his sword in. "Remind me again why we can't have our weapons?"

Cole shut the instrument case. "I _told_ you- my dad can't find out I'm a ninja! And I don't feel like making up excuses for why I'm carrying a giant scythe around." He walked up to his dad's house and knocked on the door. The door opened a moment later to show Cole's father standing there. Hikari smiled with this mildly frightened expression and straightened up to her full height (which was not very impressive, and she was especially short for even an eight year old).

"Hey, dad!" Cole said, smiling and setting down the case. "How long has it been?"

Cole's dad just scowled a bit. "What? You too good for the doorbell?"

He then slammed the door. Hikari winced but then had to giggle at all the ninja's expression. She then reached forward and pushed the doorbell. What sounded like a quartet sang the word 'Welcome' before the door opened. Cole's dad looked rather amused as he reached out his cane. "Haha, come on in son! It's been forever!" He hugged Cole before regarding the three boys behind him. "What did you bring, a quartet?" He then paused when he saw Hikari. "Oh, who's this, son?"

Everyone glanced at each other- they were not entirely sure how to explain Hikari's presence, but then Hikari started forward with a bright smile and a sparkle in her silvery gray eyes. "Hi Mr. Brookstone!" she chirped. "I actually was admitted to the Marty Oppenheimer School for Performing Arts a few weeks ago, and Cole's the guy who's helping me around! He sometimes takes me to my singing class! When he said he was visiting his dad I really wanted to come along with him!"

Cole's dad smiled again. "Oh, I see, but aren't you a little young?"

"Yeah, but my parents say I'm a music prod-prod-prodigy," Hikari said, stumbling over the word, "so they sent me there!"

Cole's father nodded approvingly. "I see. Well, good to see you're helping out the future generation of music, Cole. C'mon in, I've got a kettle of lemon-honey tea on the stove."

The inside of the house had a couch centered right next to a piano, a phonograph, and various posters and pictures plastered on the wall. Everyone looked around curiously, except for Hikari, who was concentrating more on the tea.

"Did my son tell you I broke my foot?" Mr. Brookstone asked, tapping said foot with his cane. "It was the cha-cha, but I _swear_ the percussionist had it in for me," Mr. Brookstone said, jabbing his cane in an accusing manner. "Don't see why; you seem like a nice guy!" Hikari responded, blowing on her hot cup of tea to cool it down a bit.

Cole sighed, looking a bit vexed. "No, dad, I didn't tell them your silly stories."

"What he meant was," Kai burst out, trying to keep Mr. Brookstone from getting too angry or indignant, "We've been so busy training at the... um..."

"The Martha Oppenheimer!" said Jay quickly. A bit too quickly, unfortunately; the record that was playing scratched as Mr. Brookstone turned to face them, a suspicious look on his face. "The, Martha, Oppenheimer?"

"What he is trying to say," Zane interrupted, shooting Jay a quick glare, "is the _Marty_ Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts."

"We're doing a project on the history of Ninjago talent," Hikari quickly interrupted, so that the four stuttering boys weren't just sitting there scrambling for material, "and Cole wanted to ask you how we could get our hands on the Blade Cup."

"You're talking about getting your hands on _the_ Blade Cup," said Mr. Brookstone sternly, pointing at his poster of it. "The most prized and heavily guarded award in all of Ninjago. The symbol of excellence, harmony, and grace. You can't just _get it_. You must _earn_ have to exhibit style, perfect pitch, push the boundaries of artistic license, and... win this year's Ninjago talent show!"

"Perhaps there is an... easier way," Zane suggested.

Hikari snorted into her teacup, trying desperately to tamp down her giggling as Cole's father continued monologuing dramatically. When she finally was paying attention again, Cole's father was saying, "And we can enter Hikari as well; it's a perfect chance to show that age doesn't affect performance!"

"Um, we actually weren't planning-" Cole began, but Hikari spoke up. "Um, sure! That would be nice."

"Excellent! Now boys, let me hear the sweet, sweet sound of harmony!"

All four boys exchanged a look until Jay stood up and started singing, "Harmony," Zane joined in rather hesitantly, and Kai reluctantly jumped in.

The end result was absolutely horrible, I can tell you.

Hikari covered her ears, and cringed away until it stopped. "Um, they're only really any good at solos, so we were thinking... you could... train them!" Hikari said, hesitantly. Cole's dad sniffled, touched. "My son, following in my footsteps... I'm so proud!"

* * *

"I'm proud of who I am," Cole said, putting his hands on his dad's shoulders. "And... I want you to be proud of me, too." He'd changed back into his ninja gi, while Hikari had changed into a little white dress. She had a bow in her hair and had on pink shoes and she looked really cutesy and pretty.

Mr. Brookstone backed away, a look of disgust on his face. "I can't be proud of any son who thinks stealing is right. And I'm not staying to see you make a mockery of our family's legacy." And he turned and walked away.

Hikari winced. Ouch. That was harsh. "Dad, I-!" Cole burst out.

Too late. He was already out the double doors.

Cole looked down at the floor, his dark brown eyes filling with tears.

Hikari hugged him, but then she looked over his shoulder. "Um, guys!" she gasped. Everyone turned to see some Serpentine walking over to the stage wearing very bad wigs. "Treble Makers? What are THEY doing here?!" Jay asked, harshly.

Kai was at the curtain, seeming to be listening. Hikari went over and managed a glimpse of purple scales, pink eyes, and black and blue before he stepped back and let the heavy curtain to look at them. "Uh, guys? Pythor's here. And the Blade Cup is out. We should grab it and go-"

"No," Cole said, his eyes hardening. "The way I see it, either Hikari or we have to win to get the Blade Cup, so we have double the chance. We're going to _win_ this competition. But we're gonna do it _our_ way."

* * *

"And next up... Hikari!" the announcer... erm, announced, before backing away as the curtain opened on Hikari. Who swallowed nervously and swallowed hard, before taking a deep breath and starting her song. Her clear voice rang out in the auditorium.

Backstage, the watching ninja's mouths dropped open. Kai's eyes widened as she sang, Cole's eyebrows shot up, the scar on Jay's eyes stretched quite a bit, and Zane's expression turned into a more shocked one.

" _Let's go in the garden  
you'll find something waiting  
right there where you left it  
lying upside down_

 _When you finally find it  
you'll see how it's faded  
the underside is lighter  
when you turn it around  
_

 _Everything stays  
right where you left it  
everything stays  
but it still changes  
ever so slightly  
daily and nightly  
in little ways  
when everything stays..."_

Hikari took a deep breath as the audience applauded. The song was short but sweet, and the judges held up their scores. 10, 9... 7. From Pythor. So overall, out of thirty, Hikari got a grand total of 26. Not bad for her first time. She curtsied, smiled brightly, and skipped offstage. The ninja all high fived her, but there wasn't much time to celebrate.

"And now, the Royal- oh, hang on, there's a slight change, folks. Ladies and gentlemen, Spin Harmony!"

The ninja all got onstage, and Hikari leaned forward to watch. They were actually quite good; especially considering since Hikari hadn't really done anything except sing. Halfway through the performance, Cole jumped onto a Fangpyre's head, punched the next one's head, and headsmashed the last one before landing on the stage. Hikari's eyes widened. She didn't know much about dancing or performing, but even _she_ knew that move. "The Triple Tiger Sashay!" she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

The ninja all went to hug Cole, and two of the judges held up perfect 10s. Just as Hikari had expected. She turned to Pythor, who was giving them... a zero?!

"HEY!" she yelled, stomping onstage and crossing her arms even as the crowd booed. "That's not fair, they did terrifically and you know it! Give them a fair score, why don't you?!" Another thought occurred to her and she added, "Plus you're not allowed to give a zero!"

Pythor suddenly gagged, and an arm stuck out of Pythor's mouth to write a single, shaky one next to the zero. "IT'S A PERFECT SCORE!" yelled the announcer. "SPIN HARMONY WINS THE BLADE CUP!"

Hikari hugged Cole. He grinned down at her, but then looked off to the side. Hikari twisted to see an empty chair, where Cole's dad would've sat. His eyes went slightly misty, and Hikari hugged him tightly in return. As though that could make up for his dad not being there.

"I've never felt more alive!" Zane exclaimed as they walked offstage. Jay cheered, a cheeky grin on his face. "HAHA! We did it!"

"No; Cole did it! Because of you, Ninjago will sleep safely tonight," said Kai, grinning at Cole. Cole sighed slightly, handing the trophy over to the other ninja. "Thanks, but go on and celebrate without me," he was saying. Hikari was standing a bit further back, so she noticed the figure entering the backstage area again. Her silvery eyes widened, and she ran and yanked on Cole's gi to get his attention. "Winning doesn't feel the same without my dad- Not right now, Hikari, I-"

"Cole!" said a familiar voice. Cole looked up, and his eyes widened. "Dad?!"

Cole ran to him, as his father approached with a smile. "I saw it all, son." The two of them hugged tightly, Hikari beaming like a beam of sunlight as the two of them spoke. "You saw me dance?"

"More importantly- I saw you _fight_. Those Serpentine were up to no good, and I saw you stand up for what is right."

Hikari smiled, in a relieved manner. Whew! Everything was going well.

Wait, she'd probably just jinxed it.

"Sorry to interrupt your little family reunion," Pythor drawled. Yep, she'd jinxed it. "but did you know..." he took off the fake beard. "It's _me?_ Pythor."

Hikari didn't move. She just facepalmed as the ninja all approached him. "I didn't want you to miss our big shhhowstopper!"

Several things happened all at once: Several crates suddenly started moving, screeching loudly against the metal tracks before hitting the stage equipment, knocking it down- on top of Cole's dad-!

"DAD!" yelled Cole, and he jumped on top of his father as the equipment came crashing down.

Hikari gasped and ran to the equipment. "Cole!" she screamed as Jay hacked, a moment later, "He took the Fangblade!"

"Never mind that- what about Cole?!"

They all ran over, but then Kai stopped. Hikari turned to see the Scythe of Quakes... glowing?

"He found his true potential!" Zane exclaimed. The stage equipment started glowing, spheres of light encircling it as it all lifted up, held up by a glowing Cole- his eyes glowing pure blue. Hikari's eyes widened, but then something happened.

The image she'd been trying to get to- the one that had been blurry- a layer of black tore away, showing it even more clearly. The only thing left was a pure, red film, covering the image with a cloudy, eddying substance.

Cole threw the equipment away and helped his father up. Mr. Brookstone said, shakily, "How did we survive that?" Before looking at Cole with a shocked expression. "... son?"

Cole looked down at himself, before holding out his arms and allowing himself to rise into the air a bit. "Cole found his true potential! His relationship with his father must've been holding him back!"

"Great," Kai sighed, "so now I really _am_ the only one!"

Something suddenly occurred to Hikari; something she had never actually thought of before.

When Zane had found his true potential, the picture had grown clearer. When Jay had, it had become even clearer, and the blue film had been removed. And now, Cole found his. And it was almost perfectly clear.

So perhaps when _Kai_ found his true potential..

Maybe it would be clear to her then.

* * *

"It might not be the Fangblade," Mr. Brookstone said, placing a framed picture on the wall, "but it sure will look good on my wall."

Everyone was hugging or cheering in the picture as Cole held up the Blade Cup, and all the ninja expressed their approval. Hikari beamed and applauded slightly, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're all family now," Mr. Brookstone said proudly. Hikari smiled slightly, smiling secretly at the floor. It was nice to have a family again...

Mr. Brookstone let go again and said, heading to the kitchen, "I'm going to go get some more tea!"

The moment the door closed, the whole room changed. Hikari was standing and hugging someone's legs, in a vague, slightly blurry image. It changed to her hugging who seemed to be Lloyd. Then the room changed to Hikari facing something, shadowy and indistinct, before changing back to Hikari and the ninja, standing in the room.

"It happened again," mumbled Cole softly in surprise.

Hikari tightened her grip on Kai's sleeve.

She didn't know WHAT to expect anymore.

 **A/N: Whew! One of my longest chapters ever.**

 **Also whoever guesses the two songs in this chapter get a shoutout!**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Dream lighting (both): Glad you like it x)**

 **Trumpet player (Quotev): Glad you liked it! This is actually a fun story; I can't believe I didn't edit it for a while.**

 **Ninja kitten (Quotev): Woah! xD Nice, I'm glad to see you liked it!**

 **FictionDreamer (Quotev): yep, she's pretty cool.**

 **MissKitty2004: Haha, yep**

 **GamerGirl597: Yes, but can you guess from when? 0_0**

 **MMM: I didn't remember the exact episode lines so thanks for telling me; and as for the rest... we shall see.**

 **danadanone50: Wow, really? I'm flattered :) Thanks!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	10. Chapter 10

Hikari heard a commotion on the deck. Getting up and rubbing her eyes, she walked out-

And promptly ran straight into a tall man who's skin was a darker black than squid ink, glowing red eyes, and a permanent snarl fixed on his face. Oh, and let's not forget the helmet with the bone on it and the _FOUR ARMS_.

"Oh? And who's this?" the man asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Well, one of them, anyway. The other two were crossed and the third arm was at his side. Hikari pushed his hand off and stepped back, frowning at him. "That is Hikari, brother!" snapped a familiar voice that made the frown drop off Hikari's face. Hikari turned and ran over to Sensei Wu, who stood there with his staff. "Sensei!" she chirped at him, beaming.

"Oh... hey Hikari, did we wake you up?" Jay asked, smiling sheepishly at her. The other ninja exchanged a sheepish glance.

Hikari shrugged with a wide grin. "Yeah, kinda." She then peered over at the man with the four arms with her large, curious grey eyes. "Who's he?"

Kai's sheepish grin faded into a dark scowl, directed at the four-armed man. "That is Lord Garmadon," he said, glowering at the man. Hikari's eyes lit up suddenly. "Oh! You're Lloyd's daddy!" she said happily, turning to him. Frowning and scratching her head, she looked him up and down, oblivious to the fact that everyone on the deck was staring at her incredulously. "Although, he didn't mention you had four arms..."

Cole suddenly coughed, covering his mouth. When he lowered his arm, he was still smiling though.

"Ah... yes," Sensei Wu said, clearing his throat in the slightly awkward silence where Garmadon, for once, had absolutely no idea what to say in response. "Hrhm! Well, yes, as I was saying, Lord Garmadon shall be our guest.

"We have to live with him?" "He has _four arms_!" "Uh, might I remind you that ever since he turned evil he's been trying to get our Golden Weapons-?!"

" _ **ENOUGH**_!" shouted Sensei, making Hikari jump back slightly in surprise. She'd never heard Sensei Wu raise his voice to THIS volume...!

All four ninja, even Kai, straightened up and said, in a resigned tone, "Yes, Sensei."

"This isn't about the Weapons! This is about my son!" Lord Garmadon snapped at the four ninja, glaring at them. Hikari simply watched as Sensei Wu said, sternly, "From here on out, you will obey me, and you will respect my brother."

"Yes Sensei," all the ninja said.

Well, all but Kai.

As Sensei Wu led Lord Garmadon to the bridge, Lord Garmadon paused and smiled at Kai. Kai glared at him in return.

On the bridge, Sensei Wu said, watching the six of them (including Hikari and Nya), "So, where are we with the four Fangblades?"

"Ummm, Pythor's managed to take the first two, but there's still two left!" Jay said, followed by Cole: "And we only need one to prevent him from unleashing the Great Devourer."

"Any luck finding their whereabouts?"

"No, but the falcon is programmed to alert us if he sees any suspicious activity."

"Good. The faster we find the Fangblade, the faster we can save Lloyd. Kai and Nya, prepare the deck and double-check the anchor," Sensei Wu said. "We need to be ready if we have word of activity."

The two siblings bowed. "Yes Sensei," they spoke, before leaving the room. On the way Kai collided with the door watching Lord Garmadon, before leaving the room.

Hikari also left, following the two siblings.

"Zane, did you say the falcon was _programmed?_ " Sensei asked, a confused look on his face.

Zane quickly explained, before adding, "But I am more worried about Hikari."

"Why is that?" Sensei asked, frowning.

The ninja all contributed with a funny thing that happened with Hikari, including the incident at Mega Monster Amusement Park. Sensei Wu thought for a moment, stroking his beard. "... interesting."

* * *

Hikari was walking past the ninja's room when she heard this excruciating scraping sound that made every hair on her head stand on end, like metal scraping on metal. What did the ninja do in the morning?! Covering her ears she poked her head in. "What are you guys even-?"

Her voice abruptly cut off and her mouth dropped open as Lord Garmadon turned, still rubbing the knife over his teeth as though he had toothpaste and a toothbrush.

He smiled as he removed the knife from his teeth, his teeth flashing slightly in the light.

Hikari slowly retreated out of the room.

* * *

Lord Garmadon was eating this big plate full of... black.. stuff. With what seemed to be a few maggots in there. It squished kinda... disgustingly.

Hikari stared at him. He slowly stopped as he noticed the small girl staring at him.

"What's he eating?" she heard Cole ask Kai, who responded, glaring at Lord Garmadon, "Condensed evil. It's supposed to be low in fat."

Lord Garmadon smiled at Hikari again, holding out a forkful of black maggots. "Care for a bite?"

Hikari stared at him faintly, as though he had asked her to eat a forkful of literal evil. Oh wait...

"... I... I think I'm good, thanks..."

* * *

There was a storm outside, and Hikari was literally hugging Kai for dear life as he steered the ship. "Uh, Kai, are you giving Hikari a piggyback ride?" Jay asked.

Kai looked at the tiny girl clinging to his back. "She's trying not to get thrown about," he responded.

"Where's Garmadon?" Zane questioned. Kai sighed. "Sunbathing."

Hikari peeked over his shoulder to see Garmadon, indeed, lying on the deck in the middle of the storm as lightning struck all over the place.

* * *

Hikari walked into a room to see Lord Garmadon playing a video game. Well, sort of. He was kinda just destroying everything...

She watched him for a minute before commenting, "You know, you'd probably do better with a fighting game and not a RPG if all you wanna do is destroy stuff."

Lord Garmadon looked at her sideways for a moment. "... do you know of any, then?"

Hikari smiled and nodded, her eyes sparkling a bit. "Oh yeah, Fist-2-Face 2! Kai really likes that game, and Lloyd-"

Her voice cut off as abruptly as it started, and she looked down at her feet. "... Lloyd liked it too, so... he showed me the ropes," she finished the thought softly.

Lord Garmadon watched her for a moment. "... what is the relationship between you and Lloyd?" he asked, in a soft, almost dangerous voice. It sent shivers up Hikari's spine, but she still smiled brightly. "Ah, Lloyd is my best friend!" she replied happily.

"... I see," Garmadon responded, before lightly adding, "Do you think you could grab the game? I think I'd like to try a round against you."

Hikari blinked at the sudden change in subject. "Ah- okay! I'm not very good though..." She ran out of the room to grab the game.

Lord Garmadon ejected the game from the disk drive, watching the small girl. "... hmm."

* * *

Had Kai always been so... paranoid? He'd watched at Nya's door and actually fought Lord Garmadon! Hikari had always known he was hotheaded, but... this was strange. They hadn't reached the Fire Temple yet, there was still... several minutes to go, from what Nya had noticed.

Kai noticed her watching him. "What? You gonna say I'm an idiot?" he snapped. Hikari blinked. ".. no, I was just wondering... why do you want to be the Green Ninja so much?"

Kai stared at Hikari before scoffing lightly. "You wouldn't get it."

Hikari said, innocently, "Why not-"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A DAMN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD, THAT'S WHY!"

Hikari literally jumped as Kai shouted. He had _never_ shouted at her before. She heard footsteps as people started running towards the room, but Kai kept shouting. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE YOUR PARENTS! YOU DIDN'T EVEN _KNOW THEM_! HOW WOULD YOU UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO SAVE PEOPLE?! I WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH TO SAVE MY DAD! BUT YOU HAVE POWER WITHOUT EVEN TRYING!"

Hikari stared at him. Kai was panting, and his furious expression turned regretful as he realized he'd just shouted at Hikari. "... Hikari, I'm so..." he began, but Hikari wasn't done. Her own anger had started mounting, and now her eyes flashed.

"I don't know what it's like to... do you even know what you're saying?" she asked, her voice rising as she spoke. " _What do you know about me?!_ "

Sensei Wu burst into the room. "Kai! What is... the..." his voice faltered as he saw Hikari standing there, staring at Kai with an expression that was slowly changing into anger. " _You don't know the first THING about me! You've hardly known me one month! HOW WOULD YOU KNOW THAT?!_ "

Kai stuttered, stepping back. He'd never seen Hikari angry before. Frustrated, yes. Frightened, yes. Desperate, of course. But angry... no.

Never.

"Hikari, we're at the Fire Temple. We have to go save Lloyd. Whatever is going on can wait until later."

The moment Sensei Wu mentioned Lloyd's name, Hikari relaxed, and her eyes went silver again. She stared at Kai impassively for a moment before muttering, darkly, "Okay," and leaving the room.

Kai shuddered slightly.

Hikari didn't seem scary, but she was definitely frightening.

* * *

They stepped into the temple's inner core, and Jay whispered, "There's Lloyd!"

Hikari looked where he was pointing, and her vision tunneled.

Lloyd was standing in the cage, looking around unhappily at the Serpentine digging in the rock for the Fangblade.

"Son!" Lord Garmadon started forward, when they heard Pythor shout something. They quickly approached Pythor instead. He was turned around, he shouldn't have noticed...

but he was holding the Fangblade. He saw them in the Fangblade's reflection. "Ninja? ATTACK!" he shouted.

Sensei Wu pointed with his staff. "Don't let them leave! Attack like there is no tomorrow!"

The snakes and the ninja all ran at each other.

Even with all the ninja, the snakes kept targeting Hikari. She appeared to be their weakest link. Hikari was still trying to get to Lloyd, when a scaly hand hit her shoulder.

Hikari jumped, her eyes widening. " _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**_ _ **!**_ " she screamed, covering her ears with her hands. The lava around her bubbled as Hikari's eyes flared open.

And purple.

Kai, who had whipped his sword out to combat the snakes, turned to see a spout of lava fairly erupt around her. It suddenly split slightly and whirled into the air before turning the same, dark color as the fire he'd seen before.

"What-?!" Garmadon asked, his eyes widening. There was no time to ask as the lava converged on the Serpentine.

"Hikari?!" Lloyd shouted, watching. Slowly, the seething bubble of lava faded to reveal Hikari standing there, swaying slightly, but seemingly unharmed.

The Serpentine who had touched her shoulder was not so lucky. A purple aura seemed to be surrounding him, before it vanished, revealing that there had been nothing standing there in the first place. That aura... wasn't around the snake...

So where had it come from?!

"Retreat, but nottt without a parting gift!" Pythor shouted.

As Constrictai made the volcano more unstable, Lord Garmadon went to get Lloyd. Hikari shook her head, the purple fading, before running after him.

As Lord Garmadon fought his way up the stairs, Hikari dodged and squeezed past the Serpentine to the long shaft which held Lloyd's cage, and doing her best to lift it. It was heavy though...

Suddenly, two pairs of arms grabbed the shaft, and Lord Garmadon helped Hikari pull Lloyd out of the rising lava. Lloyd tackled his father in a hug, before getting down and hugging Hikari. She gladly reciprocated, hugging him tightly. She would've cried a bit out of relief, but the volcano was too hot and too dry for anything like that. "Lloyd... you're okay!" she whispered, happily.

Lloyd beamed at her. "Mmhm!" was all he said in return.

Suddenly Kai ran past her, up the stairs. Garmadon suddenly picked Lloyd and Hikari off the ground and ran towards the exit. "LEAVE THE FANGBLADE, KAI! It's not worth your life!" shouted Jay.

Kai shouted something back, but it was inaudible over the sound of rocks falling.

"But.. what about Kai?" Lloyd asked, before shouting, "KAI!"

Suddenly, the ledge beneath Lloyd and Hikari's feet crumbled, and the rock fell. Everyone reached for him and Hikari, but it was too late. The rock fell into the lava. Miraculously the two of them were all right.

As the rock floated through the lava towards Kai, Lord Garmadon had to be pulled away from them. Kai managed to dislodge his sword, and a quick gleam of silver flashed before landing on a rock almost touching the lava.

"Lloyd look out!" Hikari suddenly spoke, and pushed him away slightly. Lloyd staggered but caught his balance, just as a rock about the size of a fist hit Hikari right above the eye, cutting a gash above it. She collapsed onto the rock with a soft cry.

"Hikari!" Lloyd panicked and shook her. She didn't respond, and Lloyd looked about frantically before seeing Kai. "KAI! HELP!" he yelled. Kai turned to see them on the rock, surrounded by lava. He looked back at the Fangblade before running across the rocks to their aid. "C'mon, let's get out of here," he said, lifting Hikari and Lloyd onto his shoulder. "But the Fangblade-!" Lloyd started. Kai shook his head, although only moments before he'd been doggedly pursuing it. "Forget it! We have to get you and Hikari out of here!"

Kai managed to Spinjitzu to a rock, before noticing the exit was blocked off by large boulders. He looked around for a moment, Lloyd hugging him out of fear and Hikari lying on his shoulder.

* * *

The Bounty lifted off, just as the volcano exploded.

"Kai!" Nya cried out, as Garmadon said, almost disbelievingly, "Son..."

Suddenly, a glowing bubble of heat shot out of the volcano. Inside Kai stood, glowing silver, with Lloyd standing beside him and Hikari on his shoulder. "It's Kai!" Cole blurted, "he's found his true potential!"

Kai landed on the deck, and Lloyd fell onto the deck. He stood there for a moment, until the silvery glow around him faded away and he fell to the deck. The ninja helped him up again.

"Hikari!"

Lloyd's worried cry alerted them, and they turned to see Lloyd shaking an inert Hikari. Blood was pouring down her face from the rock that had hit her, and she was oddly still.

Everyone crowded around her, and Nya knelt down next to Lloyd and touched Hikari's wrist. Her skin was hot from the volcano, but...

"... I.. I can't find her pulse..." Nya whispered. Lloyd's eyes widened, and he looked down at Hikari. "No! Hikari has to be okay! She saved me! It should've been me!" Lloyd babbled, green eyes wide with fear. "She pushed me out of the way and the rock hit her! _Hikari!_ " He was starting to cry now. "If this is a prank, it isn't funny!"

Hikari didn't move, her hands limp by her side as Lloyd shook her desperately. " _Hikari!_ " he cried out.

Nya kept touching her wrist, searching for something, _anything..._

Suddenly, Hikari gasped and sat up, her eyes glowing purple.

The final red screen tore away, and Hikari could see the image clearly now. She stored it away for later and shook it off. "... Lloyd...?"

"Hikari! You're okay!" Lloyd practically tackled his best friend in a big hug, squeezing tightly. Hikari giggled and reached her arms up to hug him as well. "Hi, Lloyd. Yeah, I just have a... really bad headache is all."

Everyone laughed out of relief, Lloyd still not letting go of her out of relief. "I thought you died!" he burst out, practically crying with relief. "I thought I almost lost my best friend!"

Hikari's head tilted down thoughtfully. "..."

Garmadon noticed the look.

* * *

Later, after Hikari's head had been bandaged, Lloyd hugged his dad on the bridge. "Dad? Is that... really you?"

"It is, son," Lord Garmadon replied, sounding relieved himself.

"Dad... why do you have four arms?" Lloyd asked, Cole announcing with a big grin, "He's gonna be okay!"

Everyone cheered, and Lloyd smiled before looking at Hikari. "Are you okay, Hikari?"

Hikari seemed thoughtful, but she looked up at the sign of his voice. "Hn..? Oh, yeah! I'm fine," she said, smiling brightly at him. She jumped off the table she'd been sitting on and went over to Lloyd. Lord Garmadon smiled at her slightly. "Thank you, Hikari. And thank you... Kai," he said, smiling at Kai. Kai smiled back rather than glaring this time around.

"How did you survive?" Zane said, wonderingly. "How did you discover the key to unlocking your true potential?"

"I knew when I had to make a choice," Kai said, smiling. "I wanted to get the Fangblade so badly, to prove that I was the Green Ninja. But then I figured it out- all of my training to become the best ninja, wasn't in _preparation_ to become the Green Ninja, or even the Purple Ninja, but to... protect them." Kai smiled right at Hikari and Lloyd, the latter staring at him in some confusion. But Hikari's eyes widened when he spoke the last two words.

Everyone's expression became shocked, and stared at Lloyd and Hikari.

"What? What is everyone looking at us for?" Lloyd asked, obliviously.

"That means," Nya began, before putting the four Golden Weapons around the two of them. The Weapons began to react, forming into a green aura on Lloyd's side and a violet one on Hikari's. " _Lloyd_ is the Green Ninja, and Hikari is the Purple Ninja!" Sensei Wu exclaimed. "I thought they would be one of you, but it was them the whole time! It makes sense... you were not only chosen to protect the Golden Weapons, but to protect the Chosen Ones..."

Garmadon's smile suddenly faded to a look of shock. "That means..."

"The battle lines have been drawn," Sensei Wu said, sternly. "Sadly, our family has become only more divided. Brother versus brother, and now, son versus father."

Everyone exchanged looks, Lloyd shuffling uncomfortably in his father's grip, before looking at Hikari. "Hikari... my dad said just now that you seem to have realized something?"

Hikari frowned before nodding. "Lloyd... I remember stuff now. I didn't know much of my life before I met you, but I can remember bits and pieces of it now. But one thing I've realized is, we have an element too. You are the Green Ninja, and I am Purple. Both are complete opposites of each other, and so are our elements. You are the good side of the four elements, earth, fire, ice, and air. You can _create_ stuff out of them. You're the element of creation, and life. But... I think..."

"I'm the dark side of the four elements. I can destroy. I'm the element of destruction, and death."

"What?! That's crazy. You're the nicest person I know!" Lloyd protested. "You can't be the element of death and destruction..."

"But it has to be. How else would I be able to kill a Serpentine without even getting near them or trying? How else could I tell where someone died? ... how else could I come back to life when I should've died?" Hikari responded, her eyes glowing purple again as she looked down. "That injury..." Her hand automatically touched her bandage. "In anyone else, it would've been deadly. It _should've_ been deadly. I shouldn't be standing here right now. And yet," Hikari's purplish-grey eyes staring into Lloyd's green, "here I am."

Lloyd's eyes widened as Hikari continued, "We're like dark and light, good and evil, girl and boy. We're complete opposites. But I think that is why," she put her hands on his shoulder, "we get along so well."

In that one moment, the two of them looked so much more mature and wise than they truly were.

 **A/N: Whew! That chapter happened.**

 **I actually didn't intend Hikari to 'die' when I thought up this chapter, it happened as I wrote it and I was like, 'hey! Tension! Let's throw that in!' so here you go.**

 **Shoutout to Dark Yugi for getting the songs half correct! The first one was Begin Again by Purity Ring (but she got the artist correct) and the second one was Everything Stays.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Quotev:**

 **Ninja Kitten: I'm glad to hear you like it! :)**

 **trumpet player: But of course!**

 **ThePinkNinja16: It is going to be exactly like that. :) And sure! I'd love to hear your ideas.**

 **Merrah-chan: Ah :) Thank you!**

 **Potatoes: I has updat for you x3**

 **Jazzy-J: Wow, I'm flattered! That's good to hear, I actually had this idea a long while back so I put it into words, and now it's one of my more popular stories! (for some reason xD)**

 **Anya Garmadon: Aye aye, captain!**

 **natcatgamer: Again, thank you!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: I skipped over it, it's basically the exact same as the episodes so there's no point. And yes, I am now watching the episode while writing the chapter. I can tell you, it makes for quite a lot stopping and starting xD**

 **Dark Yugi: Yep! Good job. And thanks a lot!**

 **dream lighting: Yeah, sorry I took so long to update (scenarios take so long to update on Wattpad -_-)**

 **Michelle Rita: I'll see what I can do :)**

 **GamerGirl597: Glad to hear it!**

 **Welp, see ya next time. Toodleoo!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	11. Chapter 11

One Venomari sprinted down the street, panting with a hiss to the voice. A white figure stepped out of the fog, twirling two golden shurikens. He screeched to a halt and started the other way, as the white ninja gently threw his shurikens to the ground. Ice started forming and making him slip, and he almost walked straight into the other ninja, summoning a huge bolt of lightning. The Venomari yelped as the lightning shocked him like a whip, and he started into an adjacent alley. It was immediately lit up by the red ninja, whose body momentarily glowed with heat and flames before they faded away. He turned but proceeded to run straight into the black ninja, who was carrying a scythe. He scrambled sideways but was stopped when a smaller foot hit the ground right in front of his face. He looked up.

A very small ninja with a purple gi, covering every inch of them except for their eyes, stood there looking down at him with big, silvery-gray eyes that looked very young and girly.

"Going somewhere?" they asked, pulling off their hood to reveal long, black hair that brushed against the small of their back. And the Venomari stared at the small girl whose face was, rather than sweet and innocent, stern and waiting.

The other ninja closed in, and immediately three sharp weapons closed in on his throat- the sword, the scythe, and the shuriken- with a metallic scrape. "Oh..!"

Jay glared at him. "Thought you could joyride through town and not be noticed, huh? Where's the last Fangblade?"

"I... I ddddon'ttttt know whattttt you're ttttalking aboutttt," the snake rasped, but Kai glared him down. "Yes you do. The fourth Fangblade. When Pythor finds them all he plans to unleash the Great Devourer," he stated, glaring at the snake.

The snake seemed to smirk. "Oh... THAT Fangblade."

"What other Fangblade is there?" Hikari mumbled under her breath. The Venomari wasn't done, and cackled. "Haha, you're too late. Pythor's already there, now. He'ssss probably already digging itttt up."

Everyone looked at one another as he continued, "Iff I were you, I'd ssssstart preparing for the worsssst! Becaussssse when the Great Devourer is awakened, there will be NOTHING it won't conssssssume!"

Hikari scratched her head. "Then... wouldn't that mean it would consume you, too?" she asked, innocently.

The snake blinked wide all four of his eyes, and then wailed, "AGH! Please! You have to sstop him! That snake is crazy! I don't wanna unleashhh the Great Devourer! I'm a SNAKE! Not FOOD!"

Kai sounded a little worried, but he said, firmly, "Are we really too late to stop Pythor from getting the last Fangblade?"

The snake nodded, still looking worried, "You're days behind him! There's gotta be something ELSE you can do!"

All the ninja looked at one another, before Hikari sighed, and they all left. "Don't tell Pythor that we're going to try to stop him."

"O-of coursssse I won'tttt! What idiot would hasten his own death!" the snake exclaimed, getting up and running away. Hikari looked up at the others. "Why was I allowed to come along this time, and not Lloyd?"

"Lloyd can't use his powers yet. You can use them, but not control them. We thought that even if something went wrong maybe you could stop the snake," Zane explained, and Hikari thought before shrugging. "That seems okay."

* * *

"The Venomari's right," Nya sighed, "by the time we cast sail to clear across Ninjago, Pythor will have already beat us to the last Fangblade!"

"Aw, c'mon, guys!" Jay complained, as Hikari and Lloyd sat on the table and listened, "this is the LAST FANGBLADE. We have to get it! We've gotta think of something!"

"Well," Lloyd spoke, and everyone looked over at the male with pale-blonde hair, as he said, "if all we gotta do is get ONE Fangblade to stop him, what if we take back the OTHER three? Pythor wouldn't risk having them ALL on him. He's probably hidden them somewhere while he goes for the fourth!"

"It's so simple," Cole said, and Kai snorted as he agreed, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Jay frowned. "It can't be THAT easy!"

"Easy? My algorithms suggest taking the other three would be FAR more dangerous. Pythor would undoubtedly have them protected by his top generals," Zane reasoned, and Garmadon cut in, "even if you COULD steal the other three, you don't even know where they are!"

Sensei Wu sighed. "He's right. For the past few weeks, there have been almost no Serpentine sightings. How are they moving around?"

"Well, I thought snakes burrow." This time everyone looked at Hikari as she adjusted her far-too-big purple gi that Lloyd had helped her downsize by clipping it with pins. It was a temporary fix, although not much of a fix at all. "Don't snakes burrow and move around underground? That's how normal snakes usually move, and most of the Serpentine's hideouts, with the exception of Lloyd's treehouse, were underground. So wouldn't it make sense that wherever they are is underground?"

Everyone blinked. And then looked at each other. And then Nya laughed and shook her head. "You know, Hikari, I think sometimes we don't give you enough credit. You're right. We've done sonar sweeps of Ninjago ABOVE ground, but not BELOW ground." She turned to the bridge. "Bridge, give me a sonar sweep on Ninjago twenty feet below surface."

The map made a holographic version, and red tunnels from all the tombs led to this one cone-shaped red thing. "All the tombs have been interconnected to make one massive underground fortress!" Kai exclaimed.

"And all this time," Jay said, sounding slightly annoyed, "right under our noses!"

"Or rather, feet!" Zane joked. Hikari looked up at Zane. "Zane, do you have your humor switch on right now? Because sometimes you have a sense of humor outside of that switch," she said.

"There," Kai said, interrupting the conversation and pointing at the conical thing, "that's the most protected area. The Fangblades must be held there!"

Sensei Wu spoke up again, "Then what are we waiting for?! Nya, set the course."

Nya was already at the coordinates area, tapping furiously. "Already on it! We ought to be there by sundown!"

* * *

"We're arriving at the Mountain of a Million Steps, and you all might wanna see this!" Nya called over the loudspeaker.

Hikari dashed out of the door of her and Nya's room, with Lloyd only a few steps ahead, and got to the top deck of the Bounty, heading straight for the mountain. Jay yelled, "Look at all those piles of dirt!"

"What are those snakes up to," Cole wondered, as Lloyd and her thundered down the stairs. "Wait for me!" Lloyd yelled as Hikari dashed along a little behind him. Even if her physical endurance had built up he was still far too tall to keep up with anyway.

"This is not your fight," the Sensei said to both of them, Lloyd letting out a groan of frustration but Hikari folding her hands and nodding firmly. "The Green and Purple Ninja are too important for a future destiny. You shall stay behind with Lord Garmadon and me."

Nya flew down onto the deck in her Samurai X suit. "Well, he's going to have to look after himself, because we made room for you!" She gestured at a small black chair that now rested on Samurai X's shoulder.

When Sensei Wu looked at Kai with a rather questioning look, Kai said with a slightly sheepish smile, "Well, you said you were worried you couldn't keep up, so Nya and Jay rejiggered the design so you could come along!"

"Oh, so that was why Jay kept yelling at me from his room to grab him a monkey wrench really quick..." Hikari said, to nobody in particular. Kai smirked a little at Hikari's wondering expression, as he asked the Sensei, "well, what do you think?"

"I think," Sensei Wu said, dropping his staff and ninja-jumping into the chair, "Shotgun! Haha." Hikari giggled as Lord Garmadon said, "I will stay back with Lloyd and Hikari. I don't enjoy saying this, but... good luck."

* * *

Hikari was talking cheerfully with Lloyd as they meandered around the Destiny's Bounty, until they reached the bridge. Once there, Lloyd let out a cry as he saw his father typing furiously at the helm. "Ahh! You're... STEALING?"

Lord Garmadon jolted upright and regarded both the little girl and his son with an expression that looked as though he had been caught with one hand in the cookie jar.

"Dad," Lloyd groaned, "my friends are risking their lives to save Ninjago, and you go behind their backs to gain an advantage?!"

Hikari felt as though this were deeply private, and carefully edged backwards as Lord Garmadon said, tiredly, "I'm sorry... but I can't help it. Ever since the Devourer bit me," and father and son moved closer, "evil runs through my blood."

Lloyd sounded hurt when he said, "You left me for _so long..._ it was a good thing I found Hikari." Hikari froze from where she was, now about a foot away from them. Lloyd dragged her back again. "She was with me even when I didn't realize I wanted her to stay with me. She's been there for me even when I wasn't being very nice to her, always smiling and innocent to it... but you just left me! Where did you even go?"

"Son," Lord Garmadon said tiredly, "there are places in this world void of any good... dark places."

"Is that where Sensei found you?" Lloyd asked, his arm around Hikari still, who's face was pink at the fact that she felt she was intruding on a very intimate sort of conversation.

Lord Garmadon was silent for a moment, before saying, "You know how I've always wanted those Golden Weapons? Well, this place allowed me the power to POSSESS them!"

"But why didn't you take me with you?"

Hikari squeezed his hand slightly as Lord Garmadon said softly, "Every boy has the chance to grow up to be... whoever they want to be. ... but I never had that choice. Because I was bitten. Evil runs through my veins. But you still HAVE a choice. You don't need to _be_ like me, Lloyd! Your uncle has a plan for you, and even though it may be to stop me one day... we have to follow our own destiny. After I help the ninja stop Pythor... I need to leave again."

Lloyd stuttered before suddenly yelling, "Then why don't you just leave now!?" Making Hikari jump slightly.

Lord Garmadon looked shocked. "Lloyd...!"

"No, really!" Lloyd yelled, "go back to whatever... evil place you came from. We don't want your help! And we don't need you here. Maybe it would've been better if you hadn't come back at all."

"If... if that's how you feel." Lord Garmadon started to leave, and Hikari watched him before worming out from under Lloyd's grip and running after him. "M-Mr. Garmadon...!"

She managed to catch up with him in the hall, due to his quick pace. "L-Lloyd just feels upset... he doesn't really mean it. Please don't be angry with him!"

He stopped at this, and she stopped, panting, a few feet away from him. "Lloyd's always felt lonely... did you know he ran away from Darkley's 10 times when he was five? The first time he did, he met me. But he might not have run away if he didn't miss you, if he didn't feel like an outcast! He was kicked out of Darkley's because he lacked 'the amoral ambition become one of tomorrow's masterminds.' Even when he wanted to be just like you... he still didn't want to. I think he just wanted to be with you."

He was silent, and Hikari stepped back, thinking maybe she'd offended him somehow, but he said, very quietly, "It doesn't really matter. Go back and help my son. He needs your help more than mine."

He continued another few steps before Hikari shouted, "You're wrong, you know!"

He stopped again.

Hikari took that as her opportunity to continue. "You DO have a choice. You can choose what you do, and when we choose what we can do, we're choosing our destinies! You can still do the right thing, even if it's for a bad reason. So please..."

"..." Lord Garmadon said nothing, before walking away. Hikari's tensed body relaxed, and she stared at him before running back to the bridge.

"... was a bust! We need reinforcements...! Anyone there?!" Nya was yelling over the screen, and Lloyd was panicking about which button to press. Hikari came up behind him and bit her lip. "Um.. I think... that's the button?"

She pressed it. The cappucino machine whirred to life, and she pressed it again. "Nope. Wrong button. Let's see, which one _was it..._?"

She frowned at the buttons. "How many buttons do we need at once, anyway?" she moaned, before noticing Lloyd wasn't there anymore. "Lloyd?"

He jumped through the door again, wearing his Green Ninja gi, and holding hers. "The Green Ninja is here to save the day!" he crowed. He tossed hers over, and she caught it to find that it fit perfectly. "How did...?"

"I sewed it for you," Lloyd said, grinning at her, "go try it on."

Hikari smiled slightly at him, and was passing by when she commented, "who knew you could sew?"

He stuck his tongue out at her, and she giggled. She came back in a moment later to see him furiously pressing buttons, and she came back over and hit a gray one. "Nya, we're here! But Lloyd's Dad... um... left. How are you doing?" she said, enunciating her words. There was a short silence before Nya responded, "We're fine, but we're a little... held up at the moment. Our weapons have been taken, and we're locked in a cage!"

"And Pythor's returned with the fourth Fangblade!" Cole added, before Zane commented, "Lloyd, where did your father go?"

"I- I told him to leave. He was trying to steal secrets," Lloyd said, sadly.

"We can come help you!" Hikari called out, "and Sensei, don't say that we're too important! If the Great Devourer is unleashed it won't matter about our destinies!"

"We'll get you out in a jiff!" Lloyd exclaimed, and then ran to the weapons closet. He yanked on one, before all of them fell out and landed on top of him. "... ow."

Hikari couldn't help but giggle.

* * *

"Hey, look up there! It's Lloyd and Hikari!"

Hikari waved to Kai at the distant shout, and Lloyd mumbled, "C'mon, Lloyd... you can DO this. You're the Green Ninja!" and he started running down the stairs. "Lloyd, be careful, otherwise you're gonna-" Lloyd tripped and started bouncing down the stairs. Hikari cringed in sympathy. "... trip." Then she followed him, running a bit more carefully.

Equally unfortunately, he landed in the middle of the snakes. Hikari winced as she stopped, and not just in sympathy- something was tugging at her. Hikari groaned and shuddered.

 _Let us out..._

 _These Serpentine killed us..._

 _We've slumbered in peace, until these usurpers disturbed our sleep..._

 _They must die..._

 _All the Serpentine want to do is take over Ninjago..._

 _All we want..._

 _is **REVENGE.**_

With a shudder, Hikari realized that the ghosts of the people who'd originally fought the Serpentine- and died in the process- were speaking to her. She concentrated.

 _You want to fight the Serpentine?_

 _We went down without a fair fight..._

 _We want to get rid of them WITH a fair fight._

 _... okay. Wait one moment._

Hikari kept running down the stairs and reached the bottom as Pythor yelled, "OH YEAH? You and what army?"

"Try this one!" Hikari called out, and shut her eyes. The ground rumbled, and all the snake's laughter died down. Hikari's eyes opened.

Ghosts, skeletons, rotted corpses, the whole works, poured from the walls, the floor, everything. Pythor let out a yelp, and Hikari stared him down. Kai shivered as he saw her expression. Glowing purple eyes, a poker face, purple aura surrounding her. "To make this lovely fortress," she said, in her usual voice, which somehow made everything a thousand times scarier, "you dug right through a graveyard dedicated to the humans who fought in the last Serpentine War, and died to save Ninjago. And let me tell you two things- one, they're a bit cranky from being woken up so rudely. And two, they still. Hate. You."

And then all hell broke loose as the skeletons and the zombies and the ghosts swooped down to attack. Hikari couldn't be touched- one snake tried to run at her, but the moment he came in contact with the purple aura ghostly fire consumed him. Another was shocked with ghostly lightning, and yet another was hit with a spear of black ice.

The ninja and Lloyd stared at Hikari in shock as she stood there simply, her face completely blank as the destruction whirled around her.

One thing Lloyd did notice was Hikari's rapidly tiring expression. Not only did this entire battle look impressive, and the destruction and death she was causing along with that, but it also was sapping her energy. Not to mention, the skeletons were starting to break apart on impact, and the ghosts weren't doing the most damage.

The carnage began to die down only a minute after it had started, and just as the skeletons collapsed into piles of bones, the rotted corpses dropped to the floor silently, and the ghosts disappeared altogether, did a familiar voice ring out. "This army might work as well!"

Hikari turned, sweat pouring down her face and exhaustion ringing out in every muscle of her body. The sight of every single Skulkin Warrior standing behind Lord Garmadon made her heart jump happily.

Lloyd gasped. "Dad!"

"Lloyd!... and Hikari. You both helped me realize that I DO have a choice. If there is anyone who is going to threaten Ninjago, it better well be ME!"

"The SKULKIN army? Why would they fight beside you?" Pythor spit out. "You betrayed them a long TIME ago!"

One Skulkin responded, one of his yellowed teeth missing, "Because EVERYBODY hates snakes!"

The entire Skulkin army roared with laughter, and even Hikari managed a weakened giggle. Pythor looked enraged. "ATTACK!"

The two armies swarmed to meet each other, and Pythor went and took the Fangblades. Hikari squeezed her eyes shut, and then yelled up to the ninja, "MOVE AWAY FROM THE BARS!"

They did. She let out a scream that made everyone flinch, if only for a moment.

Ice began to creep over every Serpentine, and the chains and cages, not touching the Skulkin army, Lord Garmadon, or the ninja. All the Serpentine either became ice cubes, or their legs or tails were fused to the floor and they couldn't move worth beans.

Hikari collapsed right into Lloyd's arms, the purple glow in her eyes fading to nothingness as he lifted her up with a grunt. A green glow seemed to glow beneath Hikari, but he didn't notice.

Kai regarded the ice, and then slammed into the bars and the little snake handcuff holding it to him. It shattered with a resounding smash, and the other ninja wasted no time in breaking their own bonds. Lloyd ran over to the levers and lowered the weapons and the cage so that they didn't all have to jump, and also made sure to make the acid stage no longer acid. "Told you I'd save you!" He yelled through his hood, waving.

"Go ninja, go," Kai remarked, sounding impressed, as they all grabbed their weapons and Spinjitzued their way into the battle.

Pythor began to slither away, until he ran right into Hikari, who was waking up again, and looking more energized than ever. She blinked... and then grinned. "Thanks for the energy boost, Lloyd!" she called, before smiling up sweetly and innocently at Pythor. "Going somewhere?"

All the ninja- even Lloyd- came to her back, and Pythor mumbled, "Oh dear."

Hikari kicked him in the stomach suddenly, making him grunt. "And THAT is for kidnapping Lloyd!" she told him, before she grabbed the Fangblades from him. "And THIS... is just to stop you from waking up the Great Devourer and having him consume every tiny thing that we all love and cherish."

Pythor smirked at her... and then vanished. Hikari blinked, before tapping her chin. "Oh... I guess Anacondrai have the ability to turn invisible. That makes sense, I guess."

"We have the Fangblades, let's get outta here," Kai said, picking Hikari up and having her ride on his shoulders. Lloyd grinned at her surprised face. The ninja all spinjitzued (or ran, in Sensei Wu, Nya, and Lord Garmadon's case) up the stairs, as Nuckal (the weird skeleton with blue armor) shouted, "Don't worry about us! We'll fight the good fight!"

Kai stopped, Hikari looking a little loopy from being swirled around, and saluted slightly with a grateful smile.

Kruncha (the skeleton in black armor) shrugged. "I never thought I'd be saying this... but, GO NINJA, GO!" he bellowed at them.

* * *

Lloyd walked into the bridge, where Hikari was sitting on the sides drinking punch. Lloyd sat next to her with his Snogfruit punch, as everyone toasted to Lloyd's dad, and to Hikari, who just smiled slightly.

Sensei Wu said, "Tomorrow we arrive at Fire Mountain to destroy these Fangblades once and for all. And it couldn't have been done without your father."

Everyone cheered, and Lloyd and Hikari sat together watching as they continued, until Lloyd spoke up. "So..."

"Hm?" Hikari turned to face him, her big silvery eyes looking just as they usually did- no sign of purple at all.

"... you did a good job in there."

Hikari smiled at Lloyd's awkward tone, and hugged him. "'Nawww, thanks Lloyd," she teased him with a little smile on her face.

He grumbled but you could tell he was really pleased, even with her teasing. "And... thanks."

"For what?"

Lloyd shrugged, before smiling slightly saying, "for not killing me when I tell you I ate all your Swedish Fish."

"Lloyd Garmadon, you did not!" Hikari exclaimed, smacking him on the arm, but when the two smiled at each other again candy became the last thing on either of their minds.

 **A/N: ... so... after a majorly long time of not updating this story, I powered through this new chapter in one day, using this episode. I hope you enjoy it, and I'm probably going to get back into updating this story now.**

 **Holy crap, people really like this story... 0-0**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **dream lighting: Yep. I changed my mind. I am doing EVERY SEASON, as long as it takes me to catch up to them.**

 **MMM: Yep.**

 **MissKitty2004: I'm glad to hear you like it!**

 **Michelle Rita: I'm glad to hear you like this story! It was actually a plot bunny, but it's one of the few plot bunnies I've ever gotten THIS far on.**

 **danadanone50: (fangirls with you because I have nothing better to do) Glad to hear you think it's kawaii.**

 **strange and proud of it: Gladly!**

 **taylorblaze1: No, can't hurry it up, sorry. But I'm glad to hear you like my writing and the story so much!**

 **Shelly Marsh: No, no, you're safe- when I discontinue things I usually make a note of it, like my VeggieTales Aura Guardians story. I'll either put an author's note or PM people. So you're safe for now. :)**

 **Nijago76: I has updated. (bows, looking pleased with myself)**

 **Quotev:**

 **Dragoness: Yeah, I try to either add a new perspective or keep it like the episodes, with an extra sort of plot twist.**

 **Ken the G: ... I have no clue.**

 **Jazzy-J: Thanks!**

 **DJPixelPixie: ... oh, yeah, that's true... xD**

 **PaintedWings: Thanks, although Hikari is just more like Yui, she just has a similar personality and face and hairstyle. And also, I'm glad you realized!**

 **lloydninjago: (gives you a thumbs-up)**

 **LovelyLife: That was actually my intention when I wrote that chapter xD**

 **DemonicAngel: Updated!**

 **Welp, I'll see you all next time! (waves) Bye! I hope you liked this chapter!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: My apologies, folks! 'Fire' Mountain is actually TORCHfire Mountain. I didn't actually hear Sensei Wu properly when I was watching that episode.**

"Why is is that TORCHFIRE MOUNTAIN is the only place we can destroy the Fangblades?" Nya asked, the Fangblades gently rolling along the table as the Bounty weathered the storm.

Kai, who was sitting next to his sister, explained, "'Cause the Fangblades are made from the original teeth of the Devourer. They're so strong they can only break down in extraordinary heat."

Besides those two, Hikari was the only other person sitting in the dining room. Oh, and Jay, too.

"Um, could someone pass the salt?" Jay asked, and then a roar of thunder made him and Hikari gasp as the entire ship tilted, making the salt shaker slide over to where Jay was sitting. He caught it easily. "Hey, thanks!" he said to no one in particular, and started to use it to season his sandwich as the ship evened out once again.

Cole suddenly opened the door, his face a distinct shade of green. "Please... no one talk about food." He let out a moan as a bolt of lightning struck with thunder roaring, staggering out and then back into sight. "How much longer 'till we get there?"

"Not long," Jay responded, before looking concerned as Hikari turned to face him. "Hey, Cole, you're looking a little green over there. How'd you like a mucus-salt sandwich?"

Hikari made a face at that as Cole's cheeks bulged and then he ran. The sound of him retching over the side reached their ears, and Jay cackled a bit immaturely. "Hehehe!" Calming down, he turned back to them and said, "Speaking of green, who would've guessed that little Lloyd Garmadon and Hikari... uh, what's your last name again?"

"Tsukino."

"Hikari Tsukino turned out to be the Green and Purple Ninja?" Jay finished, still having not taken a bite out of his sandwich. Nya's lips twisted slightly. "I know- Lloyd was such a brat at first. Hard to believe that he's gonna become the one of the two greatest ninja that ever lived!" She then smiled at Hikari, even as Kai cleared his throat. "The other one being you, of course."

Hikari smiled back, her face becoming cuter when she smiled brightly like that. It was actually adorable. "Thanks, Nya."

"Where is the little runt, anyway?" Kai asked, looking around. Even though he insulted Lloyd all the time, Hikari was pretty sure Kai had a soft spot for the kid. She smiled as she turned to Jay and asked, "Can I have some of your sandwich, Jay?"

* * *

"And if you look to your left, you'll see Ninjago's own Torchfire Mountain, where the core can reach up to three bajillion degrees!" the tour guide announced.

"Will everyone please place their seat backs and tray tables in the full upright and locked position. We have reached our destination, Torchfire Mountain," Nya announced over the loudspeaker. The storm had passed, and Hikari had been looking for Lloyd. She hadn't gotten down to the training room yet, but she was now quickly approaching it as the others went onto the deck to throw the Fangblades in.

She glanced at the window momentarily- not only had the temperature risen so that she felt outright hot, but plumes of completely jet-black smoke obscured any of the outside view.

Suddenly, she saw Pythor coming out of the room, and she gasped and ducked behind a barrel. What was he up to...? For that matter, how did he even get on the ship?!

He threw a hammer at the things that controlled the thrusters. The machine sparked and smoked as the ship tilted, Pythor slithered past, and Hikari huddled behind the barrel with her hands clenching on her purple gi. The moment he passed, she was running into the training room, and gasping at the sight of Lloyd tied to the training punching bag. "Lloyd!" she cried out as she ran over to help him. She carefully pulled the duct tape off his mouth, and the first thing that was coming out of it was 'PYTHOR'S ON BOARD!'

"I know, I saw him, he just damaged the thrusters..." Hikari said, her brows knitting together in worry as she looked around frantically. She found the loudspeaker system, ran to it, and whacked the button, before both Lloyd and her screamed (or, as Lloyd said later, shouted) "PYTHOR'S ON BOARD!"

Usually Hikari would've cringed from the sheer volume of their combined, panicked voices, but now was not the time to do so. Hikari quickly unbound Lloyd and the two of them ran for the deck.

"Got this whole Devourer thing going on," Pythor cackled, and then Lloyd and Hikari stepped out. "Where do you think YOU'RE going?" Lloyd asked, glaring at the large, purple snake.

Pythor sighed, sounding bored, "Little _cliched,_ don't you think?"

Lloyd blinked. He looked rather confused. "C-cliched?"

"Overused," Hikari clarified the use of the literary term, and she glanced at Lloyd. "You keep him distracted, I'll help the others?"

"Hand," Lloyd answered, and he held up his hand in a high-five. Hikari gave him a fist bump, and the two of them smiled slightly before Hikari glared at Pythor and charged past him, blowing him a raspberry.

Lloyd tried to hit him with the staff they'd found as Hikari bit her lip and tried to figure out how to help the ninja and Sensei Wu up.

Then her eyes lit up. "Oh, of course," she mumbled, and then clenched her fists and bit her lip in concentration.

Slowly, one of the jutting stone lips that hung over the lava slowly eked out, growing and rumbling slightly as it made a slight shelf under Sensei Wu's feet. Then a small ladder, with very thin, earthy rungs formed, but it was enough for Sensei Wu to at least drop a few feet to safety.

She was concentrating so hard, she almost didn't notice Lloyd saying, "I'm not trying to defeat you. I'm just keeping you busy until the cavalry arrives!" And she had to smile at the fact that he knew what 'cavalry' was but not a 'cliche'. She also almost didn't notice Nya landing in her Samurai X form, and Pythor whimpering. The ninja were slowly climbing back on the ship, even as Lloyd did a ninja kick and actually managed to hit Pythor in the face.

Hikari cheered as the ninja started back onto the ship, "Good job, Lloyd!"

Unfortunately, Pythor managed to get away with the Fangblades. Hikari bit her lip again- and then yelped. She'd been biting it so much that it was feeling rather raw, and judging by the slightly metallic taste in her mouth she'd just bit her lip to the point where it was starting to bleed.

"Come on, he's getting away!" Nya exclaimed as they all managed to get back on the ship properly.

* * *

Lloyd threw a large, black, suitcase-like thing onto the deck, as Sensei Wu stated, gravely, "If Pythor manages to return the four Fangblades to the city of Ouroboros, he'll awaken the Great Devourer!"

"Well, we're not going to let that happen!" Nya responded sharply.

"What about me?" Lloyd asked, dragging it a little closer. "Did you see how I kicked him in the face? I'm an asset! I kicked butt! And face." He added the last part on.

Kai smiled slightly. "Patience, kid. You're too important now that you're the chosen ones." He addressed Hikari for the last part, and Hikari crossed her arms. "Well, I'd still like to kick him in someplace more sensitive for kidnapping Lloyd," she said, grumpily for once.

Lloyd looked at Hikari, who noticed him looking at her and smiled slightly at him.

"Patience? Hmmm... the student has become the teacher," Wu said from his high perch, as Jay flipped open the case for the Golden Weapons, "What do you say we play a little catch-up?"

"It's my favorite game!" Cole exclaimed, and they all converged and grabbed their Golden Weapons. Hikari started forward as they were about to leave. "But please...? Let me come! I can help!"

All of them were about to protest when Hikari used her biggest weapon.

Puppy-dog eyes.

If possible, NEVER let Hikari give you her puppy-dog eyes. They get as big as they can while still being cute, her bottom lip sticks out slightly, and she looks cute as a button. Not to mention, she looks as though if you don't do what she asks she's going to start crying- and Hikari crying is even MORE adorable than the puppy-dog eyes.

Kai opened his mouth to protest... and then groaned. "Fine. Lloyd, you're still staying behind. Hikari, you're sticking with me."

"Okie," Hikari said happily, and then jumped onto his back riding piggyback. Lloyd groaned. "Aw, man..."

"Don't worry Lloyd, I'll punch his teeth out for you," Hikari told Lloyd. He smiled slightly at her sparkling eyes and excited expression. "And don't forget to stomp on him!"

"How could I?"

That being said, the four of them spun into their Spinjitzu tornados off the deck, and Kai summoned his bike as they rode down the mountain, Hikari clinging onto him tightly with her hair streaming out behind her.

They reached the ground and rode at a speed that if they'd been in Ninjago City Hikari was pretty sure they would've been arrested for speeding. Jay's voice crackled over the walkie-talkies: "I've got him in my sights!" They swerved behind the train, and then the train transformed into a large sort of serpent. It started smacking the ground next to Cole with a tail.

And then cannons appeared and started firing at Jay and Nya and Sensei Wu.

Hikari glared as two Serpentine motorcycles landed behind them, and then she extended her hand, eyes glowing. The ground beneath them suddenly opened up, opening up a chasm as the two Serpentine plummeted, screaming, into the abyss- and then the chasm closed. There was no sign of the two motorcycles.

"Hey, I didn't pass out or get exhausted that time! Maybe I'm getting used to it," Hikari squeaked in Kai's ear cheerfully.

Behind them, the Destiny's Bounty swerved like crazy. Probably because Lloyd could barely see over the wheel and therefore had no idea how it was going.

The walkie-talkies crackled. Cole's voice came out. "If we're going to have any chance of getting close, we're going to have to work together."

"I have an idea!" Nya called, "Jay, follow me. Hikari, Zane, try to get in close and see if you can cool things off."

Zane and Kai got dangerously close, and then Hikari jumped onto Zane's bike.

She almost slipped, but managed to cling onto the ninja tightly as they zoomed towards the car. "We're going in!" he called. "Hold on, Hikari. NINJA-GO!" he spun into a Spinjitzu tornado and attacked the snakes atop the last car. Hikari dropped to the roof, shaking her head. "Woahhh," she said, a bit loopily, before noticing that the last two cars were held together by a thin metal wire.

She jumped down and touched it. Ice clouded over it, and Zane hopped down to join her. He waved at the car. "Good bye," and then the car was completely released from the train altogether.

"Nice job, Zane! Hikari!" Jay called over the walkie-talkie, and Hikari beamed. "Thanks!"

The other ninja hopped onto the car. "Let's head to the front!"

"Last one there is a rotten ninja!" Cole exclaimed, and they continued towards the train. Hikari rejoined Kai. Which was not the best decision, because one snake that came to attack them flew off altogether, and the other punched Kai. Kai staggered and nearly fell off the train, having to grab the edge of the roof. Hikari looked up at the snake, and then her eyes glowed. "LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!"

Icicles and ghostly fire- presumably because Zane was right beneath them- went shooting at the Constrictai, who was pretty much obliterated by the time her short 'angry spell' was over.

"What?!" Kai yelled as Hikari went back to help him, "You try fighting up here!"

She repressed a giggle and helped him back onto the roof, before squinting into the wind. Three more snakes joined them, and Hikari turned to Kai. "Kai, can you put me on your shoulders?"

He did so. Hikari raised her hands and opened her eyes wide. Purple flared out from the center of her eye.

Fire began to swirl around her, in a maelstrom of ghostly blue flames that danced along her arms. She pointed at the snakes, and all three screamed as they were consumed by the ghostly flames. Their bodies aged, shriveled, until they were nothing but dust and they flew off the roof as if they'd never been there.

"I was going to come down and help, but it seems as if you've got it under control," Nya said, and Hikari saluted. "Aye-aye, cap'n!" she joked.

"DUCK!" yelled Kai and Sensei Wu as a street sign came up. "I'm trying... I can't-!" Nya was cut off by getting hit in the face with the large sheet of metal. Hikari winced. "Ouch."

Kai Spinjitzued the remaining snakes off the train, panting. "Sheesh... hard to catch your breath up here."

"Well, we are getting blown at by very strong winds..."

Large crashing, crushing noises sounded as they reached the front and Nya and Sensei Wu rejoined them. Skales went flying out the window and Nya lifted the roof of that car clear off. "Good to see you," Sensei Wu said, hopping down from Nya's shoulder. Cole grinned at them. "It's good to see you!"

Jay and Zane joined them as the train kept running along, except now the train was shaking. Kai staggered too much and fell off, Hikari letting out a slight cry, before Zane caught Kai bridal-style. Hikari slid off of Kai's back as Jay said, "Ha, nice catch, Zane!"

"Last one's a rotten ninja," Cole reminded Kai, who sighed in an annoyed fashion. "So be it. Just one more car to go... Pythor's in there with the four Fangblades! Who's first?"

Someone darted in front of them- that someone being Sensei Wu. Hikari caught up to Kai, barely reaching his waist. "Sensei?"

He used his staff to hit the part that was holding the train together, and Jay yelled, "Sensei!"

"What are you doing?!" Cole shouted as the space between them grew further and further.

"My destiny is to face Pythor alone," Sensei Wu shouted over the loud wind, "your destiny is to look after Lloyd and Hikari!"

"This is turning into a habit, with him!" Kai shouted, sounding annoyed. Hikari wasn't sure if he meant Sensei, or Lloyd. "How do we get off this thing?"

There was no response, and Hikari instinctively waved. "Bye Sensei! See you soon!"

As she did so, she realized how silly that was- she wasn't sure if she would see him soon at all. Why had she said that? Probably because her parents always told her to say that rather than 'good-bye'.

A lump grew in her throat. Good-bye sounded almost permanent. She wasn't going to use it unless it was absolutely necessary.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be.

* * *

They were just sitting atop the train (or in it) out of boredom. "This is boring," Hikari sighed, plopping her head in her hands, until suddenly she heard something. Getting up, she peeped around the edge of the train, and was delighted to see the Destiny's Bounty approaching. The anchor slammed into the side of the train, and the train started moving along with the Bounty, which had now regained enough control.

"To Ouroboros as fast as you can!" Kai shouted up to Lloyd, who yelled back (it could be heard faintly) "Aye aye, captain!"

Then the train lifted into the air, and the others had to scramble back inside to avoid falling out of the train as they soared towards the City of Ouroboros as fast as they could.

Even at the speed they were going, the skies were going dark. Lloyd was trying not to show it, but the ship couldn't keep the train in the air without having to set down a few times, and they set down in the city.

Everyone charged out, Lloyd having to run to keep up with the rest of them. "Wait up, guys!"

Hikari was pretty much sprinting, but when Lloyd tried to catch up and drew even with her, she reached out her hand and extended it. He took it, and the two of them jogged to the center of Ouroboros hand-in-hand.

"What's going on?" Kai asked as they reached it. The ground was glowing a sickly green, and falling inwards. "What's that creature in the ground?"

Hikari gasped as she saw a pair of glowing, red eyes moving beneath the ground. "... I think that's the Great Devourer," she said, faintly, stepping back in fear.

"You must do _everything_ in your power to stop the Great Devourer!" Sensei yelled to them, "Go ninja. _Go._ "

"No... Sensei!" Kai shouted, starting forward and reaching out, but Hikari's grip stopped him. He looked down.

Hikari's eyes were glowing violet, and her hand was still entwined in Lloyd's, but now was clutching onto Kai's shirt. " ** _Some things cannot be prevented,_** " she uttered, her voice sounding like a mix of a thousand people, before she looked into Sensei Wu's eyes. " _ **Some things SHOULD not be prevented.**_ "

Sensei Wu nodded.

And then all hell broke loose as a huge mouth, a huge HEAD the size of a delivery truck- no, TWO delivery trucks- exploded out of the ground, writhing up as the huge, muscular, serpentine body that belonged to the head followed it, with teeth the size and at least five times the thickness of a streetlight, with pink eyes, and it let out a loud, earth-shattering hiss as lightning struck behind it.

Hikari's violet eyes faded, and she stared up at the giant snake and knew.

The Great Devourer had been awakened.

 **A/N: Drama!**

 **Hey, two updates in one day! :) Who knew?**

 **Responses to commenters:**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **dream lighting: I'll try.**

 **Quotev:**

 **TeenCrafter601: It's easier since on Fanfiction some people are guests and can't be PMed.**

 **cookiecat567: LLOKARI! (s/he made a shipping that ships Lloyd x Hikari.)**

 **LovelyLife: (thumbs up) Thanks!**

 **Thanks for all the likes/favorites/follows! See y'all next time!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	13. Chapter 13

Everyone backed up rapidly towards the doorway as the Great Devourer writhed out of the ground, before turning its huge, pinkish-red lamplights of eyes down. It lunged down... towards...

Hikari went utterly still as the mouth of the Great Devourer closed upon Sensei Wu.

Oh, and Pythor, I guess.

"Sensei..." Kai whispered, sounding shell-shocked, and Jay reached out helplessly. "No...!"

Everyone stared up at the Great Devourer with worry and sadness as it writhed up into the air... let out an almost sickeningly _triumphant_ roar... and then turned to look at the six ninja standing there, Hikari and Lloyd clinging to each other's hands and staring up at the gigantic snake as if they'd been turned to stone.

"Maybe if we stand... perfectly still..."

A loud _HISS_ that almost deafened them, and Hikari screamed out what everyone was thinking: "RUN!" They all turned tail and ran out of Ouroboros, the huge snake slithering after them at a speed that seemed almost luxuriously slow. Jay tripped and fell in the sand, and Hikari skidded a bit before releasing Lloyd's hand and grabbing Jay. "Come _on_ , come _on!_ " she screamed in terror, glancing from Jay to the Great Devourer and back to Jay again as they tore back towards the Bounty.

They all ran onto the ship, and Nya shouted as they ran into the Bounty, "Fire up the engines!"

Hikari yanked a huge stool over to the window and peeked out of it, although she had to stand on the very tips of her toes to see out of it.

"I said, _fire up the engines!_ " Nya yelled at Lloyd as the other ninja charged aboard, who cried back, "There's no wind, and we only have reserve fuel!"

"USE IT!" Nya commanded, desperately, as Jay approached the screen that showed the Great Devourer slithering towards them. "Uh, hate to tell you this, but _objects in the mirror are closer than they appear!_ " he almost shrieked, voice squeaking.

"Working on it," Nya said, and then hit the gas. The ship rose into the air, the thrusters fired, and they tore off. Kai cheered, startling Hikari to the point where she nearly fell off the stool. "Take _that_ , you stupid snake!"

The snake erupted from the ground, in FRONT of the Bounty's path. Hikari went over to the window again as Jay whimpered, "I think it heard you!"

Hikari yelled, attracting everyone's attention, "You want to consume everything?! Consume THIS!"

A huge bolt of lightning came arcing out of the sky between them. Nya sharply swerved as the Great Devourer's gaping maw clamped shut on the lightning, which exploded in a blast of light. There was a very pregnant pause.

And then it roared again, and Hikari blew a raspberry at the snake. Kai said, still looking through the window, "Nya, we gotta go faster, that thing is gaining on us!"

"We're going as fast as we can!" Nya shouted, "I'll try to get us to Scatter Canyon!"

"The probability of us making it that far is less than eight percent-" "NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!" Nya shouted, focusing on the window as she interrupted Zane. Cole gestured as he momentarily glanced up, "It's coming in for another attack!" He checked the data again and yelled, "PORT SIDE!"

Nya steered the wheel, and Hikari couldn't help but repress a gasp as the jaws barely missed hitting the side of the ship. Lloyd yelled from where he was, "We're losing speed! We'll drop to the ground pretty soon!"

"Throw everything overboard!" Nya answered.

Every single person on the ship turned to look at her as if she were insane, "WHAT?!"

"We need to lose some weight!" This statement was interrupted by Hikari screaming suddenly. The sky was lightening, but now fire from the thrusters exploded out of the ship and hit the Great Devourer in the face as it tried to bite the ship again, momentarily turning ghostly blue and firing them out of immediate vicinity of the giant snake.

Everyone charged around the ship, throwing tables, books, shelves, even the old damaged thruster unit off the ship. The Great Devourer ate every last piece. "Man, he sure is hungry!"

Hikari squinted. "Is the Great Devourer bigger?"

Even as she asked, a huge swelling from the center of its body sent scales spraying everywhere and made the Great Devourer not only larger, but longer. It momentarily shook its head before roaring again. Cole squinted at it. "The more it consumes, the bigger it gets- DON'T THROW ANYTHING ELSE OVERBOARD!"

Too late- even as he said it, Cole tossed the teapot over the railing. A perfect landing into the Great Devourer's mouth. They made it to Scatter Canyon, but now there was another danger, at least for Hikari- she was so small that the swerves, the frantic veering, rising, plunging of the ship made her lose her footing and pretty much fly through the air.

Lloyd grabbed hold of her hand and yanked her to him. "Don't let go!"

"Not planning to!" Hikari cried out, shaking so badly you'd think she'd had a 'Vibrate' setting.

Cole pumped his right fist as he looked out the window. "We lost him!"

Not a moment later, _something-_ with a white, pointed tip that looked sharp as a dagger (with a slight sinking in her stomach, Hikari realized that THAT was the Great Devourer's _tail_ ) smashed into the ship, and Nya screamed, "ABANDON SHIP!"

Hikari clung to Lloyd's hand as they all ran towards the deck, Hikari yanking Lloyd onto Cole's back along with her- Cole, for once, not making a joke about 'babysitting' or complaining- and they took off in his huge car as the Bounty smashed horribly into the sand, grinding to a halt. They hovered there, staring at the fallen ship that had been with them through so much. Lloyd even wiped away a tear or two.

And then the Great Devourer slithered up to it. They quickly revved away, but Hikari looked over her shoulder as they landed in a small cave what felt like a safe distance away. They all turned back to look at the ship as the Great Devourer leaned down... picked it up... tossed it into the air almost casually...

And then _snapped_ the _entire ship_ into two, perfect halves.

Everyone automatically- instinctively- shouted, "NO!" as this happened, and Hikari was squeezing Lloyd's hand so hard as she huddled near him that she was pretty sure she was cutting off all the feeling in his hand, but he was squeezing back, and both of them were staring in horror as the Great Devourer let out one last roar of triumph, before retreating into the ground.

Cole groaned loudly, but a slight tone of relief invaded his voice. "It's gone."

"Ah," Kai panted, pulling back his hood, "that was too intense."All that action... makes you so thirsty!"

"There's no time to rest!" Zane said urgently, getting back to his feet, "we must warn others before it becomes bigger!"

"Bigger?" Jay repeated, before the next time it rose to a hysterical shriek, "BIGGER?! _That thing in one big bite just crushed our entire SHIP!_ We need to save as many as we can," he said, pacing rapidly, "We'll find a- we'll find a refuge, somewhere safe to hide, OOH! The Serpentine tombs! Yeah, they're underground. Sure, we'll be without sunlight for months, but they'll be perfect-"

He was cut off by a little purple bundle hitting him square in the stomach and hugging him tightly. Hikari had this mixed fiercely-determined-yet-scared-to-little-pieces look on her face, but she still hugged him a little. "Calm down, Jay! Don't panic! We can't give up!" she said, fiercely- but with the slightest quiver in her voice.

"Exactly, Hikari's right!" Cole argued back, and Jay glared at Cole. "You know as well as I do that we have no chance of stopping that thing-!"

"Listen to yourselves!" Kai pushed them apart, and Hikari let go of Jay, not noticing this funny look on Lloyd's face, "Is this what Sensei Wu would've wanted? Us fighting? Running and hiding? Giving up?!"

"But he's not here anymore," Lloyd spoke softly, the funny look fading.

Everyone paused for a moment, before Hikari frowned. "Well, we can't just let that can't stop us!"

Everyone looked at her. Hikari froze a moment as if caught in a spotlight before Kai put a hand on her shoulder. "Hikari's right. Sensei Wu might not be here, but his teachings live on. Sensei once told me it's not the size of the ninja in a fight- it's about the size of the fight in the ninja. All this training... all of these battles ... we've battled skeletons and the Serpentine. We persevered through so much, we can't just- give up now! A ninja never admits defeat. A ninja always picks himself up if down."

"I think that's what Sensei would want us to do in this situation," Hikari agreed with Kai, smiling nervously.

Zane frowned. "But how do we defeat a snake of that magnitude?" he questioned.

"Yeah, it's not like we have another Sacred Flute around to charm it! Or, wait, what about our trusty dragons? Oh, I forgot, they flew off and left us high and dry, or wait, haha, what about our GOLDEN WEAPONS? which would do NOTHING against a snake that size? Haha... oh, we are so _hooped_ ," Jay panicked again. Hikari crossed her arms. "Well, I once read a story about how someone defeated the snake from the inside- they let themselves get swallowed, and then cut their way out again," she commented, making everyone make a slight face at the mental image of that. "But, that's disgusting and insanely dangerous and even if you sent me in there, I wouldn't have enough strength to actually kill the snake, so... no, I don't really think that would work," she mumbled thoughtfully. "What we really need would be some sort of gigantic weapon..."

"Or an _idea_ that's even BIGGER!" Kai exclaimed suddenly, making everyone look at him, "HA! Jay, you're a _genius!_ You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Probably not," Jay said, from where he was lying sprawled on the ground, "but, go ahead..."

Kai was already charging out of the cave, "There's no time... I'll fill you guys in on the way!"

"Where are we _going?_ "

Kai grinned at them and raised one fist. "We're gonna _destroy_ that snake once and for all!" he crowed.

Everyone looked at one another, and then Hikari let out a mild giggle. "Hmm, sounds good to me! Lead the way!

And everyone followed.

* * *

"Good idea, Kai," Cole said, as they landed in the junkyard, "If the Devourer wants to consume, then this place is a full on buffet."

Jay sighed. "Looks like my parents are gone."

"Good, better for us." He opened up a blueprint, and Hikari's eyes went wide at the blueprint. Nya went off on her own a little at this point, saying something about a 'Tornado of Creation can do all the work...'

She was working on her own little project in the corner, but when Hikari tried to take a look Nya absentmindedly shooed her away, so Hikari came back over to the ninja, where Kai was saying, "This is gonna be dangerous, so we can't have anyone around."

A little bell rang, and everyone looked up to see the mailman coming in on his bike. Hikari's big, silvery-gray eyes got even bigger. If they got any bigger, she'd probably be able to pass as an anime character.

They ran over to him as Cole mumbled, "What's HE doing here?"

"GAH! You ninja are always sneaking around, giving me heart attacks. You're too quiet," the mailman said as they rushed in around the corner. "Sorry," Kai said urgently, "we didn't mean to scare you, but you need to get out of here NOW."

"W-well now," the mailman said, but Hikari ran over. "Please Mister? Could you delay delivering the mail for today, just until tomorrow? We promise we won't tell anyone, and no one's home right now anyway!" she said, earnestly.

The mailman paused, next to his bike. "... well... okay... one day shouldn't hurt," he said, and the ninja beamed at Hikari. "Are the owners at the 'Take Back Ninjago' rally too?"

"What 'Take-Back-Ninjago' rally?" Hikari asked, and he answered, "You haven't heard? Everyone's getting together in Ninjago City for a rally. They're nervous about all the Serpentine problems that have been going on lately."

"Whoa! Look at that! You guys are inspirational," Lloyd said, sitting on the hood of a car.

"Well, the little kid's right- wherever you are, trouble is always around," he said, but Hikari, who was facing the mailman and right next to him, let out a horrified cry as a huge, snake's head came slithering into view. The ninja tensed as Nya continued furiously muttering and working on her side project.

"AHHH!" the mailman screamed when he turned around, as the Great Devourer started looming over him, "SNAKE!"

He jumped into a garbage can as the snake looked around at the piles of stuff in the junkyard. Hikari gasped, and then screamed, more petulantly than in fear. The scream was loud enough that the Great Devourer looked right at her. "It's now or never guys, do it, do it!" she screamed, in fear this time.

Those pinkish eyes fixed on her as the snake hissed, and Kai spun into a fiery, sparking tornado of heat. "FIRE!" he yelled, closely followed by Cole, who spun in a circle around Hikari, as if protecting her, dirt and rocks spiraling around him. "EARTH!"

Now Jay went, his tornado lightning-blue and sparking with electricity, "LIGHTNING!" And finally Zane went, a tornado of white energy that send cold and snowflakes spitting out of it. Hikari backed out of the way as Nya kept muttering, glancing over her shoulder over and over again as all four Spinjitzu tornadoes whirled into each other.

The tornados combined into a huge one, spitting with dirt and sparks and lightning and snowflakes, and Hikari winced and backed away a step as the objects spiraled. Soon, metal, cars, other stuff from the junkyard came whirling together into the tornado, being picked up from the ground in the strong winds. Hikari yelped as SHE was very nearly carried away, but Lloyd thankfully jumped in at the last moment and seized her, dragging her into a little niche. Hikari couldn't stop staring as all the random pieces of junk came together, and then suddenly, the thing on the blueprint- the one Kai had drawn out very nicely, I might add- appeared in the place of the tornado.

"Cool!" she and Lloyd chorused.

"Zane, now!" Kai bellowed.

A jet of clear, beautiful flute music sent out sound waves, which _barely_ missed the Great Devourer's scaly head. "Zane!" Cole complained, "what was that?! You could use some target practice! You're supposed to _hit him_ , not- give him a haircut!"

"May I remind you," Zane said, sounding a tad annoyed, for the first time EVER, "that we _just_ magically whipped up this heap of junk!"

The snake hissed again, and Kai shouted, nervously, "I hope one of us created a reverse feature!"

Nya shoved whatever she'd been working on into her bag, and came back over to where Lloyd and Hikari were crouching, staring in awe at the vehicle.

"Because- REVERSE!" Kai screamed desperately as the Great Devourer came lunging at them, and they backed away rapidly with a squealing of tires as the Great Devourer's head slammed into the ground. The ninja peeled out of the area and tried to retaliate by hitting him with the flute music, which shot over his head and missed by a wide shot.

"We need to hold him in place," Hikari mumbled furiously, "otherwise the dumb thing's just gonna DODGE!" she yanked Nya and Lloyd away as the Great Devourer plowed through their hiding spot.

"STOP IT!" Hikari cried out, and suddenly the ground started rumbling.

Kai squinted from where he was sitting in the vehicle. "What is that?"

"Hikari, I think," Zane responded. If possible, his already pale skin had gone a shade whiter. Everyone peeked out at Hikari- and then realized why he'd gone paler.

" _ **Leave my friends ALONE!**_ " Hikari screamed out, and skeletons shot out of the sand. Well, I say skeletons. What I mean by that were skeleton BONES.

Skeleton bones rose up suddenly, rapidly, condensing into a wall that captured the Great Devourer and held it in place. Well, its head at least. It must have been surprised, because it didn't immediately crush every single bone into a fine white dust.

"Now Zane! Before it gets away!" Cole yelled, recovering from his startled surprise, as Lloyd and Nya gaped at the five of them working together, Hikari surrounded in a purple aura with her hair floating in the air. "Take the shot!" Kai shouted to Zane, and the blast of flute music, this time, converged on the Great Devourer directly- direct hit!

"It's working!" Cole yelled happily as the sweet flute music blasted everywhere, and Kai spotted something as it writhed on the ground. "It's got a weak spot!" he shouted, seeing one tiny, glowing pinprick on the serpent's head.

Hikari was distracted. It was easy to tell, because the wall of bones collapsed, but still made it a pain to walk or do anything, since they were sharp. She glanced at Kai and the strange vehicle as Cole yelled back, over the music, "WHAT?!"

"On it's forehead!" Kai shouted back, "It's got a-"

Hikari let out a scream. "GUYS, LOOK OUT!"

Lloyd also cried out, as the serpent's tail whipped down on the vehicle, separating the back part from the front and making the music cut off abruptly and the vehicle rock crazily. "ZANE!" they all screamed, and Hikari ran over to the smoking, sparking mess. "Zane? Zane?!" she cried. All she knew was that he hadn't 'died'. But she had no idea where he was in the mess of smoke, and in the whole confusion the Great Devourer retreated.

"Is everybody... okay?" Cole asked, shakily, and Lloyd and Nya charged over to where Hikari was already looking through the smoke, "Where's Zane?"

Hikari pulled out a few cans, and Zane stepped out from where he'd been momentarily squashed when the Great Devourer had crushed the vehicle. "Right here." He shook his head, and then looked up, his entire left side of his face having torn clean away to reveal the robotic structures underneath.

Hikari gasped a little in surprise as he said, seemingly unaware of it, "That was close."

"Too close," Kai agreed, as Jay and Cole jumped out.

"Perfect," Jay said, sarcastically, "now THAT was a total failure."

"Not really- I think Kai found something out!" Hikari said, running over to Lloyd. Lloyd looked happy. "I'm glad you're okay!"

"I'm glad you're okay too."

Jay coughed vaguely- something that sounded vaguely like ' _Ishipit_ ' before Kai said, excitedly, "Yeah! Did you guys notice on its forehead? It has a weak spot!"

Jay went back to being upset. "Oh, great, let me make a note of that- 'giant snake, with wee itty-bitty weak spot' that'll be TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AT BECAUSE THE THING IS TOO RIDICULOUSLY HUGE TO DO ANYTHING TO STOP IT!"

"Are you done?" Nya asked, gently, and Jay took a deep, deep breath. "Yesss."

"Because things just got _worse_ ," Nya said, sounding very annoyed now, "look!"

The Great Devourer was slithering in the direction of... of...

Hikari felt as if someone had just held an ice cube to her stomach. "It's headed towards Ninjago City," she whispered, fearfully.

"That's where my parents are!" Jay said, his annoyed face turning worried, and Cole added, "So's everybody else!"

Kai looked as though someone had just full out slapped him across the face. "If it consumes the _biggest city_ in all of Ninjago... there will be no stopping it."

* * *

"Mom? DAD?!" Jay cried out as they pulled out in the 'Ultra Sonic Raider' ("it sounds cool!" Lloyd insisted), to see the old car being threatened by the huge snake. The size difference was so ridiculous, that had Hikari been in a different circumstance, she would've laughed. Unfortunately, they were NOT in a different circumstance, and that was _Jay's parents that were in danger!_

"LEAVE MY PARENTS ALONE!" Jay yelled, jumping out of the Ultra Sonic Raider and onto his parents car. He raised his nunchucks, and waved it- "LIGHTNING!"- sending tongues of lightning arcing across the serpent's scaly skin.

Kai intercepted it as it ran away and thrust his sword out with a shout of "FIRE!" The serpent shied away, trying to avoid the hot flames.

Cole ran over to a news truck (where the news crew was filming) and lifted it up. "Mind if I borrow this?" he asked, grunting a little bit. Cole then launched it at the huge snake. Rather than crushing its skull in, it just bounced off, making the snake even angrier than before. Hikari and Lloyd were sticking together, and they ran over as the huge snake started plunging its tail at the ninja. "ICE!" And Zane froze its tail literally feet from them in midair. It shifted the tail, before the ice cracked right off.

It smashed the news truck, and Jay chuckled nervously. "Um... I think we only made it mad."

Hikari bit her lip, and then she glared at the snake, her nervous face changing to one of pure anger.

This snake had almost killed Zane. It ate Sensei Wu. It destroyed their home in one big, neat, humongous bite. The Serpentine had nearly killed her and her friends multiple times just getting this thing awake, and then didn't even bother to stand and face it once it WAS awake.

That snake represented every obstacle that stood in their way. At least, for right now.

It had to go.

"Fire!" Ghostly flames shot up around Hikari, making the others scramble back a bit as a news camera trained on her. Right now, though, she was filled with so much anger she didn't even care. "Lightning!" Tongues of electricity began to spark off of her, arcing across the ground a little as well.

Lloyd stared. "Hikari's always been scary when she's really mad," he said faintly to nobody in particular, "this just makes her even scarier."

"Earth!" Chunks of the ground started to break away from the ground and spiral around her, becoming a maelstrom of dangerous flying objects. "Ice!" The ice chunks from Zane's stunt just now sharpened to razor sharp icicles and joined the deadly spiral.

"Leave..." Hikari's eyes glowed violet. "my friends..." Every icicle, rock, lightning bolt, and flame did a quick spin and faced in the Great Devourer's direction. " _ **ALONE**_!" she howled the last word, and every single weapon went shooting at the snake, a few of the makeshift weapons _very nearly_ hitting the weak spot, but ultimately all of them missing.

Hikari's eyes went back to normal, and she put her hands on her hips in a very feminine and almost _mature_ move. "You'd think with everything I just threw at him that at least ONE would've hit it, but _nooooo_ ," she mumbled, glaring at it and then blowing it another raspberry.

The Great Devourer lunged and tried to eat them, and they all dodged back, but the force of the head hitting the ground made them stagger and fall to the ground- twice. Nya flew in in her Samurai X suit, grabbed a lamppost, and then forced the giant snake's mouth open.

"It's breath smells worth than Cole's chili," Lloyd commented from where he was standing, and Cole straightened up. "Hey!" he said, indignantly, but the snake started slamming itself against a building. Nya didn't fly out of the mouth as the snake tried to snap the lamppost.

Kai looked panicked and angry. "Get outta there, sis!"

"I can't!" Nya cried out, her voice very distant but still audible over the Great Devourer's roars, "the suit broke! I'm stuck!"

Something suddenly smacked into the back of the snake's head, sending green venom (or possibly the snake's saliva) flying out of its mouth. Everyone looked- it was a white dragon with _four heads._

"Rocky!" Cole exclaimed, sounding happier than a clam, "our dragons are back!"

Hikari gaped at the four-headed dragon as it swooped through the air. "That looks more like _one_ dragon with _four_ heads," she commented, but she was still smiling ridiculously widely because she was _so relieved_ that there was some form of backup coming.

"It appears dragons go through a metamorphosis when they reach adulthood. They too have found their true potential," Zane said, sounding wondering and a little cheerful.

Cole laughed as the dragon now lunged at the serpent's middle, "Well they couldn't have come at a better time! Go get 'em, Rocky!"

One of the heads spat ice, making the Great Devourer unable to undulate as it usually did. "Ice!" shouted Zane, who still had not put on the other half of his face yet- probably it had been scraped off when the Great Devourer had attacked.

A blast of flames smashed into its eyes from above, and Kai shouted, "Fire!"

The dragon swooped down and sent arcs of lightning into the snake's side, and Jay called out, "Lightning!"

And the dragon came back to hit the Great Devourer so harshly that the momentary stone armor it had formed shattered on impact. Cole grinned. "Earth!"

The Great Devourer let out another roar and smashed its head into the side of the building, knocking the Samurai X suit free. The dragon caught it and set it down (none too gently) on the ground, but nobody was injured. Nya grunted as Hikari ran over and helped her undo clasps, buckles, things like that. "How many clasps does this suit have?!" Hikari exclaimed, her fingers fumbling yet another one.

The Great Devourer wound its way up a building, and the dragon kept hurling attacks as Cole yelled, "HA! Could our dragons get any cooler? Seriously!"

"Yes! It's running away!" Kai cheered as the dragon came back down. Hikari frowned. Why would the Great Devourer back down so easily? Cole had thrown a TRUCK at it's head and it'd just angered it...

Her eyes widened. Unless...

"TELL THE DRAGONS TO PULL BACK UP!" she yelled, as a huge, serpent tail blasted out of the ground and hit the dragon as it flew in for a landing. "NO!" the ninja all yelled, as the tail came in again and smacked the dragon to the ground, sending dirt, grass, and trees flying. Hikari ran over to the dragon, but she was at a loss as to what to do. "What now?" Nya asked, as everyone went to touch the dragons and comfort them.

Hikari petted one head, before feeling as if someone was watching her. She turned- and was shocked. "L-Lloyd...!"

Lloyd turned at the exclamation, and shouted, "You came back!"

Everyone looked up to see Lord Garmadon standing there, regarding them as the Great Devourer continued on its little rampage.

"Give me the weapons," Lord Garmadon said, extending one hand, "I am the only one who can handle the power of all four weapons at once. It's the only thing that can defeat the Devourer!"

The ninja all exchanged a look. "Uh, I thought we were supposed to do everything in our power NOT to let him possess the weapons," Jay snarked to them.

Hikari made a slight face. "Well, I don't know anything about that. But, Jay, there is literally no other way."

"I've run every other scenario through my servers- it does appear to be the only way," Zane said, sounding worried. The ninja all balked for a moment, and Hikari hit them.

They all stared at her. It didn't hurt, of course. But the shock of Hikari actually hitting them was enough to make them all look at her. Hikari had that fiercely determined look on her face again, and she looked up at them. "Guys, even if this sounds like a bad option, there is literally no other option right now! We can't afford to just stand here while the Great Devourer tries to destroy everything!"

"Only I can-"

"Quit your yammering and just do it!" Kai snapped, heaving the golden sword he always carried over to Lord Garmadon, who caught it. "When you have a chance to make the blow, it has a weak spot near his forehead."

The others handed their weapons over. "I-I don't think this needs to be said, but we're gonna need these back," Jay told Lord Garmadon, who let out a soft, wicked cackle. "I'll do my part. You just make sure he stays in one spot!"

He was about to start laughing again, but Hikari glared at him. "Well then GO! You're wasting time just standing there laughing! Go and let us get that stupid snake in one spot!" she yelled, and he blinked before taking off.

Kai exchanged a look with the others as Lloyd grinned, which couldn't be seen beneath his ninja mask. "Hikari just lectured Lord Garmadon," Kai said finally, sounding as if he were about to burst out laughing.

"Stays in one spot, _stays in one spot HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!?"_ Jay shrieked. Hikari frowned for a moment, before looking up at Jay with a small smile. "Well, don't forget, Jay- we're ninja, aren't we?"

* * *

Hikari waited patiently. Kai had probably led it onto the bridge and to the right now. Most likely that was the case.

Cole had led it into that alley, Jay was- yep, he was up there, on the roof, she could see him if she squinted- now he was jumping... oh, there was the Great Devourer... now over to the next roof over, and now... wait, his true potential again... now she could see Zane's ice slide. That looked a little like fun, but at the same time, utterly terrifying. She watched as they careened around corners, over roofs- and now the dragon caught them as Hikari waved.

The snake looked at her with those huge pink eyes. For once, Hikari was far too determined and angry to be scared. "Come and GET ME!" she shouted, before running. It followed her as she came face to face with the giant tail. She got as close as she dared and waved as it turned the corner, the head bigger than her old house.

"Are you too scared? C'mon, you big worm!" she taunted, and it snapped. She jumped straight up, using fire to boost her jump so that the dragon swooped down and caught her, just as the Great Devourer's head closed on its tail. It was wrapped around, and they swooped back down to where Lloyd and Nya were waving. The Great Devourer was wriggling in place, momentarily confused.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Lloyd yelled, and pretty much tackled Hikari to the ground as she got off, knocking all the wind out of her. She blinked before beaming at him and embracing him back for a moment, before they let go and Hikari looked up to the building where Garmadon was standing. Storm clouds seemed to start bearing down.

"You are the reason evil runs through my blood," Lord Garmadon snarled, in a voice that made Hikari quake in her shoes a bit. The weapons started glowing, sparking with power, and sent a shock wave out- knocking everyone back a few paces, forcing Hikari to tighten her grip on Lloyd's sleeve. "You bit me once," Lord Garmadon growled, "Now, feel what it's like to be _bitten back!_ " And he jumped.

"Go get him, dad," Lloyd said softly, watching his father determinedly.

"VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE!" Lord Garmadon shouted, as the weapons glowed so furiously hot as they plummeted, that Hikari found herself biting her lip and clutching at Lloyd's sleeve so tightly that it was beginning to tear a little.

He made contact with the green spot. The Great Devourer let out one last roar, and blood- sickly green blood that looked like some sort of strange goo exploded from the body of the Great Devourer, Hikari crying out in shock. Everyone let out an exclamation as the goo crashed over everything, leaving everything smelling rather sickly sweet but unharmed.

Everyone cheered, and Jay said, wonderingly, "He did it!"

"No- WE did it," Cole responded, grinning at the team.

Hikari grinned. And then she let out a little shriek, everyone looking at her in surprise, as she tackled Lloyd in a hug. " _We did it, we did it!_ " she screamed happily, and Lloyd was hugging her back with his usual, mischievous grin. "I know!" he yelled back, and the two of them did a little impromptu dance right there on the roof, squealing in joy.

All the ninja smiled at this as civilians ran out to cheer in the street, and they joined them as Jay ran over to his parents. "Ohh... our little ninja," Edna said happily, and they all hugged. Cole ran back to the dragon, who'd recovered and looked very happy indeed to see Cole. "Rocky! There y'are, ya big lug! It's good to have you back!"

Lloyd was frowning now, still holding Hikari's hand. "I don't... see my dad," he said, finally, looking around.

Everyone looked around now, Kai's mouth twisting into its usual twisty expression. "He should be around here somewhere..."

"Your analysis is incorrect," Zane spoke, scanning the street, "He is not here."

Cole looked alarmed, "Then our Golden Weapons are gone, too! Well, isn't THAT convenient!" They approached the side of the bridge, looking around in case he was, in fact, there.

"Look! Footsteps!" Nya exclaimed, and everyone's face went a little solemn, Kai remarking to Lloyd with a grim look, "I have a feeling that you'll see your father again soon."

Lloyd's head lowered, and Hikari looked over at him. "I know, but... that's, what I'm afraid of," he said slowly, and Hikari fiercely hugged him, as if that would make up for it. Unbeknownst to her, his lips twitched upwards happily.

Cole gasped suddenly, sounding happy, "Sensei Wu!"

Sensei, was, indeed, getting up from the middle of the goo, and everyone let out a happy exclamation. Everyone literally JUMPED DOWN from the bridge and ran over to him, Sensei Wu sounding relieved when they reached him, "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you!" He walked over a bit and picked up his teapot from the goo. "The Great Devourer left a bad taste in my mouth!" He sipped from the teacup, before sighing, once again relieved. Hikari couldn't stop smiling and jumping up and down excitedly, dragging Lloyd along with her a little. But he didn't really mind.

"Much better," he said, after taking a few more sips, "and still hot!" He laughed a little bit, and Lloyd came forward, still clinging to Hikari's hand, reflexively. "It's good to have you back, Uncle!" Then the smile left his face, "But my father left! And he took all the Golden Weapons!"

Sensei Wu sighed, "Ah, very true. But the ability to better oneself makes your abilities limitless."

Jay was grinning as he said, "I couldn't have said it any better myself."

"Besides," Kai said, coming over to Hikari and Lloyd, "we have what is MOST important." And then he placed a hand on both their shoulders. "You two."

"My pupils have become the masters," Sensei Wu said, a hint of pride in his voice. Lloyd looked worried as he said, "Am I really going to have to fight my father one day?"

"One day," Sensei Wu conceded, "but today, we can feel good that Ninjago is saved. Good will finally face evil, and a final outcome will be decided."

Lloyd and Hikari looked worried, but Kai quickly patted them both again. "But don't worry! We're going to teach you everything we know!"

Jay came over and said, proudly, "And make sure you're PREPARED for that fight."

"As we all know," Cole agreed, approaching, "Good will always stand up to evil."

"And ninja always stand up for what is right," Zane added.

"Go, ninja, GO!" they all yelled, jumping into the air heroically. Then, when they landed, Hikari tackled them all in a hug, feeling her smile spread even bigger than before.

Tomorrow was another day. But today they'd won, and for now, in this one moment in the sunlight, that was really all that mattered.

 **A/N: And (finally!) the first season is officially FINISHED! This chapter is easily among one of my longest. Thank you for the 20 favorites and 16 follows on this story on Fanfiction and the SEVENTY FOUR hearts and over 6,000 reads on Quotev! I can't have gotten this far without you guys!**

 **Responses to commenters:**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: No problem (typo-wise), I'm adding the same seasons in this story because otherwise it's too much trouble, and (SPOILER FOR NEXT CHAPTER, DO NOT READ REST OF THIS RESPONSE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILER) while I considered that for Hikari, I decided it was too much trouble because then Skales gets arrested so I don't know what would happen to Hikari, so no. :/ Sorry!**

 **Quotev:**

 **cookiecat567: Aha, is that so? That wasn't entirely on purpose, but yeah, Hikari's powers really are scary, so... :/**

 **lloydninjago: Well she does control the dark side of the four elements :) So it makes sense that her powers are like that.**

 **Please review/comment, and I'll see you all next time! Byyeee!**

 **Hikari: Tune in next time to see the first episode of the next season!**

 **Lloyd: Pretty obvious Hikari.**

 **Hikari: Nyeh! (sticks tongue out at Lloyd)**

 **Jay: Ishipit (cough).**

 **Yes, I consider Jay a Llokari shipper xD**

 **Well, bye!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	14. Chapter 14

Zane's falcon soared over and landed on a street sign as the ninja managed to shift it back into place. "Finally," Cole panted, Hikari and Lloyd playing a few feet away because they really were far too young to do anything. "All fixed up and Serpentine free!"

Kai tried to summon fire, but only managed a few, tiny sparks. Hikari looked up from where she was playing with Lloyd, and applauded. "I think it felt a little hotter this time!" she called, encouragingly, before going back to playing chess with Lloyd. "Lloyd, this is a great game for training."

"It is?"

"Yeah! Chess is a game of strategy, and you have to know strategy if you're going to do well in battles!"

Lloyd bit his lip as he stared at the board. If that was the case, he was pretty sure Hikari would be a much better ninja than him- she'd already captured about 90% of his pieces and was on the road to getting another checkmate. For the fifth time in a row.

Kai groaned from where he was, Hikari capturing one of Lloyd's bishops. "Argghh, this is frustrating! Our weapons are gone, and most of our elemental powers are gone, I mean we can still do Spinjitzu, but-!" Zane started using a blowtorch as Kai frowned at his hand, "I just feel so... I don't know- limited."

Kai kept ranting as Hikari moved her queen, her rook, her bishop as Lloyd frantically tried to counterattack- and then-

"Checkmate. _Again_ ," Lloyd grumbled, "You win."

Hikari smiled slightly at Lloyd and started putting the chess set away. "Maybe we should... do something else, for now."

The two of them sat there before Lloyd shrugged, "Do you have cards?"

"Nope, just the magnetic travel chess set," Hikari sighed, putting it away, "and I am NOT playing poker with you, I suck at gambling."

"But you have a great poker face," Lloyd said, encouragingly, "we can't be good at everything."

Hikari considered this, before grinning. "Yeah.."

Lloyd frowned at her grin. "You're faking," he informed her.

Hikari's fake grin fell into a glum look, and she sat back down on the ground heavily with a nod, Lloyd joining her. "What's wrong, Hikari?"

Hikari was about to speak when she glanced up, and her expression brightened. "Oh! Nya's here!"

"I may have found us a place to live!" Nya called as Hikari came over, her happy expression still a bit more subdued than usual. Jay's eyes were wide, "Really?! But- there's a waiting list a mile long to live in Ninjago City. How did you do that?!"

"I know a guy who knows a girl, who knows this girl who knows a guy, and this guy knows another girl who knows a real estate agent and she can help you find a place! If you catch my drift," Nya said, grinning as she handed over a sheet of paper to Jay, who raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend, "And... where are you off to?"

Sensei Wu looked up from his tea, "We have to find a couple of components to fix the ninja tank-"

"Ultra Sonic Raider!" Lloyd corrected his uncle, to Hikari's amusement. Sensei Wu continued, ignoring the interruption, "And a few things to help heal the dragon. It's a day's trip, but once we get back it'll be flying again. Also... I love scenic drives," he said, smiling beneath the mustache and beard. "Punch it, Nya!"

And the two of them took off.

"Patty Keys, real estate queen," Jay said, reading off of the flyer Nya had handed him. "Ha, this is exactly what we need! Once we get a roof over our head, we can start properly training Lloyd and Hikari!"

"Good, because if we know Lord Garmadon, he's not going to be taking any breaks. Now, let's not forget, the Serpentine are still at large," Cole said, grinning.

* * *

"You've been really quiet, Hikari," Jay commented as they rode the bus to Patty Keys' office.

Hikari bit her lip, before looking up. "Yeah... I have to tell you guys something." Her voice was so serious, that all of them turned to face her instantly without a pause.

"I think I need to tell you about... my life before I stayed with Lloyd," Hikari said quietly, looking down at her hands. "I remember most of the details by now..."

"Well, maybe I should start with something else- you guys know what the 'Family Killings' are?" she asked, looking up.

Zane nodded. "Yes- it is- or, was- a series of killings with families that are said to have had spectral encounters. But why-" he asked, but Hikari looked down. "Well, yesterday, when we went to the library, passing that video store... I saw a news report where they were reporting that the Family Killings were still stagnant- no one has been killed for about three years now. The last family to be killed is the Tsukino family, with Mizuiki and Kazuto Tsukino's bodies being found and... their daughter was missing."

"Hey, that sounds like your last name!" Lloyd exclaimed, and then he went still at the shade of white her face was turning. " _Oh..._ " he said, realization hitting him like an anvil to the chest.

"Yeah. That was my family," Hikari said, her voice having gone completely blank. "But, that's not the important thing right now- one night, I woke up because I heard my mommy screaming. I got up and went downstairs... everything smelled like metal... and there were two people lying on the floor behind this one guy, who was standing there. He had these pale green eyes... and he was holding a knife..."

Everyone was staring at Hikari as tears began to trickle out of her eyes, "he tried to kill me... but he missed... and I picked up a spray can that was lying on the floor... and I sprayed him in his right eye. He paused long enough for me to run into my basement- I shut the door and locked it- and then I hit my head. I didn't remember anything about the whole thing after that... until pretty recently."

She looked up, her eyes rimmed pink from crying. "A-and then," her voice was breaking, "I-I c-c-climbed o-out the window f-from the b-b-basement a-and s-s-saw L-Lloyd w-walking by, so I-I followed him..."

She was full out crying now, and Lloyd immediately brought her to him in a tight hug, his arms tight around her as she broke down and started sobbing. "It's okay... you're fine, aren't you? You survived!" Lloyd said, trying to comfort her.

"I-I have n-n-n- _nightmares_ -" Hikari choked out- "I-I have _nightmares th-that he's c-c-come back t-t-to finish-_!"

Lloyd hugged her fiercely. "Well, we're not going to let him come back. Do you think you could recognize him?"

"I don't think I could forget his voice..." Hikari sobbed, trying to calm down, "I don't think I could ever forget-!"

"Then the minute we meet him, we'll kick his butt," Lloyd said firmly, "and you're allowed to have first hit."

"Yeah, kid- you're one of us. We'll make sure you're okay!" Cole said, clapping her on the back so hard she was knocked headfirst into Lloyd's chest, where she stayed for a moment as she cried her heart out.

Kai patted her gently on the back. "Don't worry- we'll make that guy pay."

"Yeah, don't stress out about it!" Jay said, "if we ever meet him, we'll pick him up and dropkick him into the nearest ocean!"

Zane said nothing but smiled encouragingly as she timidly came back out, tearstains on her face but her lips trembling into a smile. "Th- _thank you_ ," she whispered tremblingly.

 **(A/N: Sorry if anything seems OOC, here!)**

* * *

"This one bedroom, half bath is a cozy dream. Who needs extras when everything's in arm's reach?"

Hikari poked her head in and twisted her lips into a thoughtful look. "Um... it's... nice?" she said to Ms. Keys, trying to sound like she meant it to an extent and wasn't just lying through her teeth to be nice.

"Now, wait until you see the lighting!" she tried to turn on the lights, but the lightbulb blew out... then fell and smashed on the floor. Hikari straightened up and looked at Ms. Keys as she stuttered, "Ah, well, who needs lights when you have this view? Ha..." She opened the blinds to reveal a brick wall. Lloyd wrinkled up his nose. "Uhh, why do I smell old people?"

Hikari literally dove under the table to keep herself from laughing as Ms. Keys snapped back, "Look, doll, I'm trying to work around your budget! This is all you can afford!"

"It's... not horrible, actually. The floor is actually kind of soft under here," Hikari said, her voice muffled from where she was under the table, and also because she was covering her mouth as she tried not to explode laughing.

"Uh, this looks... promising," Cole lied through his teeth to the lady before whipping around to face the others, "remember guys, Sensei told us, our main objective is to train Lloyd and Hikari, not kick our feet up in some swanky suite. If this is all we can afford, this is all we can afford."

Hikari emerged from the table, trying to dust her gi off as Jay argued back, "Woah-woah-woah-woah! Let's not rush into any decisions! I mean, if it's really all about Lloyd and Hikari, don't we need to live someplace that'll make training easier?"

"Yeah," Kai admitted, "Jay's right... if we have to get Lloyd and Hikari ready to save Ninjago from Lord Garmadon, shouldn't they at least have their own rooms?"

Hikari blinked innocently as Zane continued, smiling, "Technically, that does not matter, the only-"

Kai smacked Zane in the stomach. There was a thump and a rattle, and everyone turned to see Hikari was back under the table, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing. It was nice to feel cheerful after the fright back on the bus, and she was definitely feeling in a more giggly mood.

"Well, it looks like you're feeling more or less like normal," Lloyd teased, and Hikari yelped and jumped and smacked her head against the underside of the table. "Lloyd!" she shouted, and lunged at him, only to have him miss. The two children ran and chased one another rapidly, giggling as the ninja smiled slightly.

"Well, if they're going to chase each other around every day, they're definitely gonna need more space," Kai commented, with a grin, and Jay turned back to Ms. Keys. "We're only thinking about the children."

Hikari smacked full on into Kai, and Lloyd followed, managing to knock all three of them to the floor.

"Woah, watch out, kids," Kai laughed, standing up and mussing Hikari's hair up. She squinted her eyes as he did that. Ms. Keys said, warmly, "Well, I do have another property that you'll just LOVE!"

* * *

"Woah!" The ninja all shouted as they walked into a much larger (and much nicer looking) suite. Hikari gasped and her already rather large eyes grew to practically anime proportions in surprise, as Ms. Keys continued, "Now, this is the eight bedroom Hero Suite. Floor-to-ceiling windows, digital screens, state of the art gaming consoles-"

A slight cough. "Ahh, it seems... a little out of our price range," Cole remarked, frowning, and Ms. Keys said, "Oh, _sure_ , it costs a little more, but you DESERVE it! Oh, I forgot to mention, there's also a dragon stable on the roof."

Hikari glanced at the price on the door. "That's... a looot more than the original apartment we looked at it..." she said, a little dubiously.

"Nice," Cole remarked a bit grudgingly, smiling, as they walked to the window. "Maybe we can get a hero discount?" Jay asked, hopefully, "after all, we ARE the ninja who saved the city."

"I thought Lord Garmadon saved the city," Patty Keys responded. Hikari hummed thoughtfully, "well, it's true he actually killed the Great Devourer, but the ninja all kept it in place so he COULD kill it..."

Ms. Keys hummed and put a hand on her hip thoughtfully. "Hmm, well, that IS heroic.. all right, I'll take the price down a LITTLE, but that's it. I can't take it down any more without losing my job." Everyone grinned at Hikari, who innocently smiled back.

She noticed Lloyd staring at her in awe, and smiled at him cheerfully, a big smile on her face. He grinned back and then looked away, the faintest pink blush decorating his cheeks.

Kai shrugged, before his eyes lit up. "We could get day jobs! To pay for the extra allowances!"

"We always said we could use a little more responsibility," Zane agreed, sounding slightly amused, but then Kai's eyes clouded over. "Oh, but we have to train Lloyd and Hikari.."

Ms. Keys leaned over, holding a small remote control. "Did I mention the in-house training facility?" she asked, cheerily. Hikari blinked at her with her big, silvery gray eyes. "... no... not really," she said softly, as Ms. Keys pressed a button to reveal the training facility.

All four ninja responded immediately, the moment they leaned over in the doorway to look at it, "We'll take it."

* * *

Hikari and Lloyd trained as they ran on the spinning dummy machine, Hikari successfully dodging some of the dummies before punching one out of the way. She was forced to duck as the dummy swung clear over her head and almost smacked her in the nose.

The door opened. Hikari glanced behind to see the ninja depositing a good deal of coins into the jar they'd set, before setting out again.

The machine suddenly spun at her head, and Hikari dove to the floor of the machine before getting back up and continuing puffing on. Lloyd almost fell off but she grabbed his hand and steadied him. "Whew, thanks Hikari," he panted.

She grinned at him, feeling more like her old self. "No problem!"

Then the dummy smacked into her and knocked her off the machine.

* * *

Lloyd punched a punching bag, which Hikari had to punch out of the way as he looked away, distracted. "Maybe we should stop for now," Hikari said, grimacing as she shook her fist. The punch had jarred her arm incredibly hard, and she winced as she rubbed it.

"My feet!" Cole exclaimed, moving them slightly in the tub of ice water he'd submerged them in, "I can't feel my feet!"

The two of them walked over to where the ninja were, Kai flopping down on the sofa as they came over. His amber eyes were haunted, and he said, dazedly, "There were so many of them... and they wouldn't stop..." he placed his hand on his forehead. His face was dirty as well, for a matter of fact.

Zane was pretty much dousing his arm in oil, which was beginning to fall on the floor. He sighed. "My gears locked up several times," he said, flexing his arm and making it squeak, "I didn't even know my gears _could_ lock up!"

Jay groaned dramatically from where he was slumped near the TV. "I don't even have enough energy to play video games!" he moaned. Hikari looked around at the exhausted ninja. "Gee, you guys look beat," she remarked, shaking her hand out again.

"I thought you guys were gonna train us when you got home!" Lloyd exclaimed, sounding surprised.

Cole looked up, as if noticing the two children in the room for the first time. "Sorry champs, but we can't until we make bread. How close are we, Jay?"

Jay groaned and shook the jar. "Is this jar getting bigger?! We're not even close!" he complained, as Zane said, flexing his arm and oiling it again, "And our rent is due tomorrow..."

He stopped as Hikari went over to the jar and deposited a large handful (for her, anyway) of coins. All the ninja sat up and stared at her. "Where did you..." Jay asked, sounding wondering.

"Don't get mad... I took a break from training and tried to earn some money too," Hikari said sheepishly, smiling slightly. "You'd be surprised how much street singers earn, especially if they have a nice voice... some guy threw a roll of coins at me and hit me in the stomach. Still worth it, though."

"Oh, so THAT'S where you went... I was wondering what was taking you so long," Lloyd said, sounding surprised. Hikari smiled sheepishly at him and shrugged. "Sorry..."

Cole frowned at the only halfway-full jar. "I... can pull a double shift," he said at last.

Zane brightened slightly, "and I can do overtime."

Jay smiled as he used a shelf to stand up, "Maybe I can sling a few more pizza pies!"

"I can make a little extra if I do the human piñata," Kai remarked, making everyone stare at him with an open mouth. He groaned and rubbed his head. "Ugh, don't ask."

"I think Kai officially has the worst job!" Hikari said jokingly, "who votes aye on that?"

"Aye," everyone said, raising their hands with her. A weak laugh spread through the room, as Cole grinned. "Great, then our priorities are set. Tomorrow, we make rent."

"And, uh... what about us?" Lloyd asked Cole. Hikari frowned. "I don't want to go too far from here, in case I get lost... and I'm worried that the Serpentine might try something," Hikari said softly, before crossing her arms, and then looking at Lloyd. "I guess we can play some video games..."

"That seems okay," Lloyd said, smiling in a lopsided way. Hikari beamed back, and his smile grew a little bigger.

Cole grimaced. "Um... could you guys also help out and fetch me some more ice?"

Hikari raised her hand and concentrated. Several icicles appeared, and Cole yelped as they started approaching. Hikari concentrated even more. Slowly, little chunks cropped off, like ice cubes. She dropped her arm and panted a little. "Mannnnn! It's easy to fight with my powers, but not to do easy stuff like make ice cubes!" she groaned.

* * *

"These snakes are sure a lot harder to beat without our- weapons!" Kai grunted, wriggling in the Constrictai's tight grip. Cole glared at the snakes. "Don't worry, Kai! We're not going to let these snakes get away!"

"We're not trying to get away," Fangtom hissed as he dodged another one of Cole's punches, "we're just trying to distract you long enough so Skalessss can kidnap Lloyd and Hikari!"

All three ninja's eyes widened to the size of tea saucers. Silence reigned in the subway for a moment, with nothing but the sound of the car running on the metal tracks to fill it.

"WHAT?!"

People at the other end of Ninjago City blinked and tweaked their ears, checking for another strange shout, before shaking it off and continuing on with their normal day.

"We could care lessss about the money," Fangtom hissed in return to the chorus of shouts, "We just vanted the girl and boy!"

The snake leered wickedly at the ninja. "Who's the fool now?!" he hissed, sounding victorious.

Wicked laughter filled the subway.

* * *

"C'mon, Hikari, choose your character!"

Hikari picked purple, and the game started. The dragons started flying, and Hikari's tongue poked out of her mouth as they started pressing buttons on their controls. "Haha! I'm gonna beat you!" Lloyd boasted, as Hikari furiously leaned and tapped. "Well, you're better at video games than I am!" she retorted, blowing him a raspberry.

Neither of them noticed the snake descending, until suddenly Hikari paused and squinted at the screen. Both of them did, really, squinting furiously at the screen...

In the reflection, they could see Skales at the window.

Lloyd let out a yell as Hikari turned to see the snake staring at them with cold red eyes. Hikari jumped up, biting her lip and staring nervously at the blue-green Hypnobrai general as he descended towards them.

He knocked on the window.

Hikari glared at him and jumped up, as Lloyd ran and yelled, "Help me!" He ran to the door, and Hikari's eyes glowed purple- and flickered red- and then went back to their regular gray, before she followed Lloyd.

They hit the keypad, and tried to shift open the door, and a mechanical voice stated, "Door is locked."

"I KNOW!" Lloyd yelled at the machine, before yanking on the door. Hikari danced in place nervously before kicking it. That just made her foot hurt as Skales shattered the window. "What do you want?!" Lloyd yelled, trying not to show how shaken he was.

"You ssseem to be the only thing your father cares about! And Hikari is far too powerful to leave alone," Skales sneered, slithering towards them. Lloyd pressed his back to the door in fear, as Skales kept approaching. Lloyd furiously tapped the buttons, worried. "With you two as my hostage, he'll have no other choicccee but to let me lead the Ssssserpentine!"

"G-get away!" Hikari ordered him, her voice squeaking a little. The game consoles suddenly sparked, and then flew at Skales and wrapped themselves around him, tightly.

Skales struggled with the wires as suddenly there was a knocking on the door. "Hello? What's going on?" Hikari almost cried in relief as Skales started tearing through the wires. It was Sensei Wu! "HELP!" both of them screamed.

Hikari bit her lip before placing her palm on the machine. Sparks flew off of it, and the door flew open. Sensei Wu and Nya stepped through the now open door, Lloyd and Hikari chorusing, "Sensei! Nya!"

* * *

The ninja burst through the door. "Lloyd? Hikari?!" Kai yelled, and Zane looked alarmed. "They're not here..."

They looked around, but they were nowhere to be seen. "Ohh, we shouldn't have left them!" Kai groaned, and Cole punched the wall, almost going right through it. "We shouldn't have taken those jobs in the first place! What were we thinking?! Losing Lloyd and Hikari is by far our biggest loss!"

A small purple bundle tackled them, and the ninja looked down to see Hikari hugging them. "You're back!" she said, happily, as Sensei Wu said, drily, "It could be your greatest lesson."

"Lloyd! Hikari!" all of them yelled, running over to the small girl and boy. Lloyd said, "I-I thought we were goners, until Sensei and Nya showed up at the last moment!"

"Yeah- I mean, I used the game consoles to wrap him up, but he would've gotten through really quick," Hikari said, letting go and gently punching Cole on the side. "We were scared!"

"I go away for a DAY and everything falls apart!" Nya said, sounding vexed, but judging by her expression she really wasn't all that upset about it.

Kai went over to the kids and put his hands on their shoulders. "I guess you could say we learned we don't need all the fancy stuff- we just _need_ each other."

"You want us to help you clean up?" Sensei Wu asked, sounding more sympathetic. "Well, we ARE a team," Kai said, smirking slightly.

"I got a better idea," Cole spoke up.

Only about an hour later, they were back in the apartment from earlier, shifting items inside. Hikari had put a few blankets on the floor under the table. "I call sleeping here!" she called out, as Cole said, "It's not much, but there's one bedroom, one half bath- a cozy dream! Who needs extras when everything is within arm's reach?"

Lloyd was carrying in a stool that he couldn't see, and bumped into Jay, who reflexively released his side of the trunk he and Kai were holding and dropped it on Kai's foot. Kai's expression seized up. "OW! Ow ow ow ow!" he yelled.

Jay giggled nervously as Lloyd set down the stool. "Heh- feels like home to me. Hey, at least we get to stay in Ninjago City for a little while."

"And, now without the distractions, we can focus on training Lloyd and Hikari," Zane said, helping Lloyd shift the stool some more. "We know the Serpentine generals got away, but you never told us, whatever happened to Skales?"

Hikari giggled from where she was under the table. "Oh, yeah. We could say that he found a new home, too. It's not nearly as nice as here. There's bars over the window... and yeah, it's where people who get arrested go."

* * *

Lloyd turned and turned while his uncle sat with his spirit smoke candles. He stood up as quietly as he could, and went over to where Hikari was snuggled up under the table. He climbed under with her and gently poked her.

"Hm?"

"Can I join you?" he asked, in a whisper.

Hikari stirred a little. "... mm," she finally answered. He took that as a yes and climbed into 'bed' with her.

She turned over and snuggled into him. It was kind of evident that she was still really groggy and sleepy, because if she did that usually she'd be blushing her head off.

Lloyd put his arm around her protectively and hugged her. His mouth quirked in a little smile, and he finally drifted off.

 **A/N: Llokari fluff at the end. Eeee :) I had to put that in.**

 **This is a bit more of an OC-centric fic (so if you don't like those, first, how did you get _thirteen chapters in_ this story without throwing something across the floor, and second, don't read).**

 **Disclaimer: I only own Hikari's character, not her appearance. Everything else is either Ninjago's property (which I do not own, sadly) or SAO's (for Hikari's appearance).**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: I don't add scenes that Hikari wouldn't fit in because this fic is mostly concentrating on Hikari's POV, so she wouldn't know about stuff with the Serpentine unless she was kidnapped or something. As for the spoiler... what do YOU think? :)**

 **Quotev:**

 **None! Bye, everyone!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	15. Chapter 15

"Huh! Hah!" Lloyd shouted, Hikari sitting on the nearby table as he furiously punched Kai's oven-mitt-covered hands. "Keep it up," Kai said, as Lloyd performed a roundhouse kick. "Fists of Fury!" Lloyd yelled, and punched more furiously and rapidly. "You can't even see a move, I'm so fast!" Lloyd kept going, and then Kai relaxed and lowered his hands. "Save the gloating- it can only be used against you by your enemy."

The other ninja were dressed in a ragtag sort of 'armor' as well as Lloyd boasted, "Please! I'm ready to face whatever you throw at me!" He kicked so hard that he knocked Kai backwards into the trash can. Kai didn't even wince and just waved his hands slightly. "Whoa, grasshopper. You're not even ready to face my pinky toe." He stuck out said body part and wiggled it a bit.

Lloyd stuck out his tongue, and Hikari hopped over. "My turn?" she chirped.

"Yep, now, no powers kid, I mean it."

"Don't worry! I won't!"

Hikari waited until Kai was back on his feet, and started punching and kicking. The training had definitely paid off- not only was she more precise in placing her punches, but she also used more force and Kai was able to feel it through her gloves.

However, his smirk started fading a moment later. Hikari's eyes were starting to glow red as she punched harder and faster. It was actually starting to push him back.

internally, Hikari was having a battle. She was standing on what seemed like a stage split by a line. On the other side was someone her exact size, except shrouded in shadow and with glowing red eyes.

 _You're skilled... but let the darkness take over, and your skills won't lose._

 ** _No!_** Hikari furiously shook her head, _**I'll hurt Kai! He's my friend!**_

 _So you say, but darkness doesn't need friends. He'll turn on you. The moment you feel as though you're ready, he will betray you._

 ** _He would never. You're_** _**lying!**_

 _Ahh, but why would I lie to you, young one? The darkness is your friend. Let it take over, let it take the reins, and you shall never lose._

 _ **I don't care!**_

 _Are you so sure about this decision? You mustn't let your 'loyalties' lie with your friends. Trust yourself more._

Hikari was starting to punch so far that Kai actually had to move his hands to block, not to mention it was actually starting to hurt. Her eyes were starting to flicker red.

 ** _It's easy to trust yourself, but hard to trust others. But I know that I can trust Kai and the others. They're my friends!_**

 _Like the way you trust your friend Lloyd? Light is the enemy of darkness. Why would you trust the light? Let me take over, and I promise we won't lose. Let me take over, and I'll help you defeat the light._

"NO!" yelled Hikari suddenly, clamping her hands over her ears and shaking her head furiously. "NO!"

"Hikari!" A hand landed onto her shoulder, and she was staring at Lloyd's beautiful but incredibly worried green eyes. "Hikari, are you okay?"

Hikari was shaking slightly, but she shook her head. "I... yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry... daydream. Daymare? ... I don't know," she groaned, making all the ninja chuckle nervously. They'd all seen how hard Hikari started pushing Kai, so something was wrong...

Sensei Wu entered the room now, not noticing how everyone seemed a bit worried. "You'll learn quickly, Lloyd, Hikari, and master your power with guidance from the four ninja."

"Great," Cole spoke up, trying for a smile, "now that that lesson is over, how about some target practice? On Kai!"

Kai looked nervous as Sensei Wu interrupted, "You'll each get your turn. But first, I don't want you to be late for your first lesson with Nya."

Lloyd whined as Hikari nervously fiddled with her hands, "Aww, but when will we learn Spinjitzu?"

Hikari smiled gently at the sight of Lloyd, and gently bonked him on the head. "Patience," she said, and he grinned and put her in a headlock, giving her a noogie. "Oh yeah? Well you want to learn it too!"

Hikari giggled and slipped out of his grip, moving her hair back into a more normal position. "That skill will only be unlocked," Sensei Wu interjected, "when the key is ready to be picked up."

Lloyd groaned, but grabbed Hikari's hand and started walking off. "C'mon, Hikari."

"Okay."

"And stop saying okay!" he joked.

Hikari burst into giggles. "Ok-ey dokey Loki."

The two of them started giggling (or laughing, since 'giggling is girly', according to Lloyd) and headed off for their next lesson. Kai noticed that the concentrated look she'd been developing when she'd fought him was completely gone now.

* * *

Lloyd and Hikari got onto the roof, where the dragon was huffing steam. "Now that I've given him his medicine," Nya said, petting the dragon, "he should be able to fly properly soon."

Hikari beamed, "that's great!" she went over to the dragon and petted it. "Isn't that great, Shard, Rocky, Flame, Wisp? You'll all be able to start flying around soon!"

The heads all bumped and nuzzled her. Lloyd grinned at Hikari mischievously, "Looks like you've got a new friend."

"Yeah, they're all pretty nice," Hikari agreed, rubbing them gently.

"Yeah, but it's important to take care of him," Nya said, smiling as Lloyd came over to where Hikari was, "because one day, he'll be yours."

"Ours?" Hikari and Lloyd asked simultaneously, pointing at themselves and one another in perfect sync. They looked at each other, before starting to have a giggling fit again.

"Oh yeah," Nya said, smiling as the two eight-year-olds straightened up. "The ninja's dragons were loyal to them, but Ultra Dragon? he's meant for the Green and Purple Ninja to ride."

Hikari petted Flame gently on the nose. "I didn't know that," she said softly, stroking them all as they all vied for her attention.

Nya grinned at the two children. "See? Even a samurai like myself can teach you a thing or two," she said, patting herself on the chest.

Lloyd smiled sheepishly. "Uh... well... we don't know how to fly," he admitted, and Nya waved that off. "Oh, don't worry about that, I'll teach you. It's all in the legs," she informed them, and the two children looked down and shuffled their legs. She chuckled before continuing, "He'll be the fastest and strongest dragon in all of Ninjago!"

The dragon stood up, roaring and rearing a little bit. Lloyd chuckled as Hikari went over to where Lloyd was standing. "Haha, looks like he's already feeling better!"

"Go try to get some air," she called, and Ultra Dragon took off, with a few mighty flaps of his wings.

Lloyd glanced at Hikari, whose hair had blown about as she looked up in wonder at the dragon. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

She glanced at him, and their eyes met. She lowered her head, and then smiled brightly.

Lloyd smiled back, wondering why he suddenly felt all warm. He dismissed it as the fact that they were standing in the sunlight and he was just now feeling the warmth.

* * *

"It's time we search the city for a more suitable place to train Lloyd and Hikari," Sensei Wu spoke.

Jay groaned. "Aw, but Sensei, Ninjago City is HUGE! It'll take us all day to find it on foot!" he whined, for lack of a more mature term. But then, Jay's not exactly the most mature person...

Zane picked up, "And without our Golden Weapons, we have no Spinjitzu vehicles... how are we going to get around town?"

"You'll learn to travel with these," Sensei Wu said, holding out a large coin thing. Hikari reached out and accepted it from him as she took a look.

"What are those?" Cole asked as Hikari examined it more carefully. "They can transport you anywhere you want to go in the city," Sensei Wu said simply, not giving much of an explanation.

"Like a magic portal?" Cole asked excitedly, Jay chiming in sounding a little like a kid on Christmas, "Ooh! Or a Spinjitzu vortex?"

Hikari giggled slightly at these statements, drawing all eyes to her. "Um, Sensei, aren't these bus tokens?" she giggled.

Cole's startled expression, and Jay's shocked one, just made the titters worse.

Everyone looked at her in surprise as she started to laugh more full-out. Lloyd sighed, but then his mouth twitched at the ends and then he started snickering along with her. "Never let it be said that our Sensei has no sense of humor," Hikari giggled as she handed over the bus token, before bursting into another fit of giggles.

The four ninja watched the two children have a giggle fit, with no sign of what had happened to her before in their room, before they all exchanged a glance and a chuckle themselves.

Sensei Wu chuckled quietly a bit himself.

* * *

The bus door opened as they stepped out in front of a building that looked a bit promising, with a wooden sign hanging above that read 'Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo'. Besides being a very long name to read off, it seemed okay.

"This is where Lloyd and Hikari are going to train?" Cole asked, sounding more than skeptical.

Jay chuckled. "Ha, it's better than our dumpy apartment."

Walking inside, a man with brown hair that stuck up and a very... um... fancy ninja outfit came walking in through one of those bead curtains that psychics like to hang in their doorways. "Welcome, to Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo," he said, dramatically as he stood in what seemed like a funny pose, "I am Grand Sensei Dareth, and I dareth _you_ , to join my dojo."

He suddenly let out a yell and struck a pose, and Hikari jumped. It sounded and looked a bit like he'd suddenly had a seizure. He struck a few more poses before somehow managing to get himself hopelessly tangled in the bead curtain. Hikari was a bit more concerned than amused, and went over. "Are you okay?" she asked, untangling him.

He cleared his throat. "Yes. Face the wall, of karate trophies," and he showed them the wall of trophies, "Notice, my name is on all of them, that is because I am a highly skilled karate machine."

"Look," Jay interrupted, and Kai picked up, "Dareth, we were wondering if we could share your dojo. See, we've been put in charge of training these two," he gestured at them, "to become the greatest ninjas in all of Ninjago."

"Not possible," Dareth said, "For _I_ am the greatest in the land."

"Um, Mister Dareth, if you don't think we can share, can we... I don't know, prove it somehow or something?" Hikari asked.

Dareth tilted his head back and looked down on Hikari, "I'll let you all train here, but on one condition-" he pointed dramatically at Hikari, so much that he nearly poked her in the nose, " _you_ can defeat _me._ "

He went on monologuing, something about animals but at this point Hikari's mouth dropped open, and she turned to look at the ninja. They all exchanged a look before giving her a 'why not' look.

"... o... okay..." And she stepped forward slowly, before rapidly punching.

Dareth blocked, but it was a sloppy block, and she chose that moment to bring her leg up in a kick. Dareth groaned suddenly as she hit him in the shin, and then she punched again, hitting him in the stomach this time and knocking the wind out of him. Her eyes suddenly glowed red again, and she grabbed his arm and judo-flipped him over her shoulder.

The ninja stared as Dareth blinked dizzily.

 _See? You did so well with my assistance... let me take charge, and you will not fail._

 ** _I can do this myself. I don't need your help. Go away!_**

Her eyes faded back to gray as Dareth stood up, a little loopily. "How did you...?"

Hikari smiled brightly. "You know animals. We know our own fighting skills."

He grinned dizzily at her. "You can train in my dojo anytime." And he bowed... before falling face-first to the floor. Hikari grabbed him and hoisted him up. "Ahh I'm sorry!" she apologized. She probably would've apologized more and more, but she forced herself to stop.

* * *

The three of them- Jay, Lloyd, and her- were standing on several poles. They'd set them up so it was a three on three battle.

Hikari lunged, so that her feet were on the poles. She landed easily, while Lloyd staggered a bit but regained his balance instantly. "You must be light on your feet," Jay instructed, before lunging towards Hikari. Hikari lunged back easily, dodging the foot he tried to kick her with. He then went after Lloyd, and Hikari made another move.

"When you strike with your hand," Cole said, "you can't use a fist. Concentrate," as Lloyd stepped off and Jay and Hikari continued. "You're small, but you're strong."

Lloyd put his hands together, and then he jumped and struck. Not only did he split the wood in half, but he split the table, and the floor. "Woah!" Hikari jumped as Jay fell and regained her balance after a moment.

"That was the power of the Scythe of Quakes!" Jay exclaimed, "and you did it without the Golden Weapon!"

"That must be why you have the potential to be the greatest ninja!" Zane said, sounding wondering, as Hikari climbed down from the poles and came over. "You can harness all the elemental powers!"

Lloyd examined his hands. "Really? Huh... cool!"

Hikari giggled at this very mature statement as Sensei Wu spoke, "With the power, you must be careful. You must control it, before it controls you."

Lloyd's face fell, and Hikari's turned almost like stone.

"I have to admit," Dareth said, coming in through the bead curtain again, "not bad for a kid. But instead of ten boards," and two of his students came in with stacks of wood, "how about 50?"

Hikari tilted her head as the children stacked the wood to make a huge, very hard stack. "And perhaps if I break through the wood, you will allow me to become... the BROWN NINJA!"

Hikari looked as Jay snickered. "You gotta be JOKING!"

"Uh, sorry, pal, club's already full," Cole agreed, smiling. Dareth waved that off. "Okay, fine, but a demonstration of my super-human strength may persuade you."

He walked over to the wood. "Observe. I call upon the greatest animal to give me strength," he murmured, "The dragon..."

"HYAAHHH!" he brought his hand down. The wood didn't break- but his hand made an interesting sound. Only a second passed before he screamed, "YOOOOOOWWWWW!"

All the ninja laughed at this, but then Kai looked at Hikari. "Hikari, you wanna have a go?"

"Um, okay!" Hikari nodded, her head bouncing as she went over to the wood, where she replaced Dareth. She took a deep breath... and then she jumped and brought her hand down.

Not only did she split the wood again, but this time she split something deeper into the floor, and made the entire building shake like a leaf, and a hellish purple light started waving across the walls.

"What in the-?!" Dareth yelped as Hikari stood there, frozen. Everyone stepped away nervously as the wood fell into the chasm. There was no sound of it hitting the ground- it must have been pretty far down.

A shaking, gnarled, rotted hand started extending from the chasm Hikari had just unintentionally created.

As if she'd been freed from a spell, Hikari groaned and stomped over to the chasm. "No! Bad zombie, don't come out! I don't want help! I wasn't trying to split the floor! Sorry! Shoo! Go away!" she said, waving her arms angrily at the zombie. To everyone's surprise, the hand disappeared, and when Hikari stamped her foot again the chasm slammed shut.

She huffed. "Once again, we're opposites. Lloyd has trouble starting up the power but can probably control it a lot better. I can start it up just fine but can't control it much!" she said huffily.

Zane looked as though he was about to say something, but then decided against it.

* * *

They walked out of the dojo feeling pretty happy when suddenly Jay yelled and pointed at something- the Destiny's Bounty...! ... except it looked downright evil. " _That's **our** ship!_ "

"But... pirates?!" Lloyd exclaimed. Cole looked confused, "Pirates haven't been around for centuries!"

"I sense Lord Garmadon is somehow behind this," Zane said, sternly. Hikari frowned slightly, "Well, we've got to follow them!"

"But how?" Lloyd asked, sounding more annoyed than anything.

Kai grinned and flipped the bus token that he was holding. "Perhaps THIS could be of some use."

They got onto the bus, and Kai said, handing over the bus token to the driver, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but follow that ship!" And off they went, all of them flipping on their ninja hoods. Lloyd looked at Hikari. "You know, I think girl ninja wear something different."

"I know, but this is more comfortable," Hikari said as she rubbed her fingers along her gi.

Kai frowned slightly and looked at Zane, "I don't like the kids coming along... it's too dangerous-"

He was cut off by a round of Lloyd practically shouting, "Please! Please please! I'll be super good!" And of Hikari delivering her ever-powerful puppy dog eyes.

Zane frowned, but then knelt and put a hand on their shoulder. "Your powers inside you two are still too great- too uncontrollable..." Hikari stared right into Zane's eyes, her bottom lip quivering sadly as she stared into his eyes.

He was quiet for a moment. His expression twitched as he stared at her. And then he groaned a little bit. "Oh, why did I look right into your face...!" he moaned, "fine, you two can come."

The two children let out a shout of joy, and Hikari gripped Lloyd's hand. "Lloyd, you're sticking with me, okay?"

"Okay!" he agreed, nodding furiously.

They all jumped onto the bus roof, and Kai noticed with slight amusement that their hands were intertwined once again, like usual. Kai was about to jump onto the anchor, when the bus shrieked to a halt as an old lady shakily crossed the street.

Hikari almost fell off altogether, but Kai had stabbed his sword into the roof and Cole was clinging to the sword, Kai was holding Zane up, and Jay was hugging Cole for dear life. Hikari and Lloyd were clinging to Zane's ankles, trying not to pull him down by accident. "C'mon people, we're trying to save the city here!" Jay yelled in frustration.

"It's getting away!" Cole cried out.

The woman was halfway across when her bag of groceries split. "Oh...!"

The ninja all sighed, sounding frustrated.

Hikari grabbed Lloyd and said, "Lloyd, on count of three, make sure you're ready to land, okay?"

"Okay.."

"One... two... _three!_ " Hikari let go of Zane, and Lloyd, and the two of them landed on the ground. Hikari crouched, clinging to Lloyd's hand, and then used her power over the earth to sling herself in the air, high enough to see the Bounty. Lloyd looked down- and wished he hadn't. "H-Hikari-!"

"HANG ON!" she shouted, and below her fire swirled to life, enough to get her to the rooftop of the nearest building. Hikari peeked down to see the ninja all watching her with expressions almost akin to terror.

She waved sheepishly.

About ten minutes later, the old lady finally moved out of the way, and the ninja pretty much gave up on using the bus to catch up. But then-

"HELP!" Dareth shouted suddenly. The ship went by slowly, and Kai groaned. "Oh... dangit, Dareth!"

Cole frowned, "We need to get onboard that ship!"

Everyone stood there, stumped, before Hikari tugged on Kai's sleeve and pointed. "Well, couldn't we go in disguise or something?"

Everyone turned to see a sigh: 'Wong's Costume'. Jay shook his head and clapped her on the back, nearly knocking the tiny girl into the street. "You know, we really don't give you enough credit sometimes."

* * *

They came out a minute later wearing pirate costumes. Lloyd and Hikari had to stand on each other's shoulders, and since Hikari really wasn't that strong she went on top. The huge pirate coat was a nice touch, actually, although Hikari looked very funny peeking out from the top like that. She'd gotten herself a disguise (an eye patch and a big mustache that actually covered a good deal of her face) and a nice hat.

Lloyd squinted through the coat as they managed to get on the ship undetected. A captain wearing a hat and a peg leg cackled, "Ha ha ha ha, how about we have him walk the plank?"

The pirates forced Dareth onto the wood, which trembled. "Y-you're making a big mistake," Dareth said, nervously.

"We have to save him," Jay whispered, and Kai hissed back, "We can't get close enough without being suspicious..."

Dareth was literally at the end of the plank by now, and Hikari squinted. "Who here wants to see him go splat?" the captain asked, and the crew cheered. Jay called, in a rather good imitation of the captain's voice, "Who here wants to see him live?"

The crew cheered. Hikari facepalmed internally at the crew.

Dareth was panicked. "W-we don't need to do this fellas... I'm a lousy martial artist. What I do, I wouldn't even call it an art. I say I'm a brown belt, but- I painted it! And my trophies, they're all fake!"

The ninja all facepalmed this time- no need to fake.

Hikari's eyes lit up, and she got off of Lloyd's shoulders. "Lloyd, over here!" she ran over to the edge of the deck, looked around, and then whistled- a loud taxicab whistle that could probably be heard from a block away.

The Ultra-Dragon swooped out of nowhere, and Hikari grinned as she flicked her fingers again. A skeleton hopped out of the ground, jumped onto the dragon, and directed it as Dareth was pushed off the plank. The dragon swooped by and caught him deftly, and if you were listening carefully you could hear him say, disbelievingly, "I, I called the dragon... I CALLED THE DRAGON! HAHA!"

With that, the ninja all revealed themselves, with Spinjitzu, or, in Lloyd and Hikari's case, in struggling off the disguise and kicking it off the best they could.

"More pajama men?!" the captain snapped, and Hikari giggled and waved. "Um, actually, I'm a girl here," she said, trying not to laugh.

"Ninja versus pirates... who will win?" Kai asked, wonderingly.

Hikari and Lloyd backed away to a safer area as Cole jumped and let Jay boost him so that he could swipe with the scythe. He cut off the feather on the captain's hat.

Hikari frowned, and then her eyes widened. "Oh! Lloyd! I know who the pirate captain is!"

Lloyd looked at her, startled. "You do?!"

"Yeah- that's Captain Soto. He pretty much was like the main pirate, until he disappeared one day. This is his ship, the Destiny's Bounty was originally HIS ship!" Hikari exclaimed, looking at the boards beneath her feet.

Two shurikens pinned Captain Soto to the mast as Jay flipped, knocked one pirate overboard with a perfectly timed flick of his nunchucks, and knocked another off his feet. Kai dodged one pirate's sword, dug it into the floor with a metallic clang, and then spun around, hitting them and knocking them all out. Another pirate approached Zane, who was whipping something around. He whipped it once, twice, and then hit the pirate and knocked him back into Captain Soto, who'd just freed himself.

Cole and the other ninja were running around, fighting the pirates, but Lloyd and Hikari had to stay back because... well...

Lloyd got ready to fight Captain Soto as he approached- Jay having knocked everyone (legit, EVERYONE) over with gumballs- but Kai jumped in with his sword. Hikari bit her lip and backed away as far as she could as Kai dumped Lloyd into a nearby barrel. "Stay in there, kid!"

Hikari wanted to go help, but she was too short to actually reach the top of the barrel, so that was a no go. Lloyd managed to knock the barrel over, and charged in what he hoped was the correct direction.

The results were... actually quite accurate. Lloyd smashed into Captain Soto and knocked him down one deck, before colliding with another pirate and falling over. Kai hopped on top of the barrel he was in and started rolling it. Hikari grimaced- she hoped Lloyd wasn't going to throw up, because at the rate he was spinning he would end up with quite a great deal of it on his face.

And then Kai tripped. Hikari cried out and ran to the side, to see Kai clinging to the anchor and dragging it down as he caught it, smashing it into the pavement. If she listened closely she could hear Kai shouting out to all the people in the street and his apologies, and she had to stifle a giggle.

Captain Soto was now attacking the barrel Lloyd was in, but missing every time. Captain Soto yelled a pirate insult and raised his sword- Lloyd dodged the wrong way-

Hikari screamed and charged forward. " _No!_ " She suddenly tripped and did a twirl by accident. As she did so, she realized something was forming around her- a wavery, purple, sparking tornado.

She gasped, but wasted no time in plowing into Soto and knocking him away from Lloyd. "I did it, Lloyd! I did Spinjitzu!" she yelled, happily. She could practically hear Lloyd's smile- "Aw, sweet!" And he spun out of the barrel with a glowing, Spinjitzu tornado. Lloyd suddenly tripped and hit a lever, which raised the anchor once again.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah.."

All the ninja approached Captain Soto, and then Hikari blinked. "Oh. _Oh!_ " And she pointed at Captain Soto. "Guys, back up!" she cried out, and they did so.

Lightning bolted out of the sky, hitting Captain Soto, and then jumping from him to every one of his men, making them jitter around crazily. She cringed in sympathy, but the lightning didn't stop there. It then proceeded to jump and hit the tallest thing on the ship- the mast.

"Uh oh," and she cried out and tried to run- she couldn't-

" _Hikari!_ " Lloyd was suddenly at her side, knocking her sideways as the mast crashed down on the deck. The ninja were trapped against it, but they really weren't harmed. Had Hikari still been standing, though, that mast would've hit her right in the head.

"You okay?" Lloyd asked, and Hikari nodded at him from where she was lying. " _Cough..._ yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," she coughed a bit.

Suddenly, the metallic _zing_ of metal on metal sounded, and the ninja turned over to see Captain Soto leering at them. "You lose, pajama people. Now, you walk the plank."

Every single sword pointed at them, and Hikari shivered in fear... and then...

 _Boom._

The deck vibrated with the impact, and Hikari twisted in confusion. She didn't see anything...

 _Boom._

One of the pirate's drinks sloshed out crazily on the deck.

 _Boom._

NOW Hikari could see what was approaching- the huge, red form of Nya's Samurai X suit. A big smile spread on her face in relief. "NYA!" she yelled, happily.

Nya came onto the ship, and lifted up the fallen mast. With one slight tap she knocked all the pirates off their feet, with another movement she'd replaced the mast.

The ninja all walked over to where Nya was standing as Nya jumped out, carrying one of her Samurai X blades. Jumping down, she sliced the sail and then landed on top of Captain Soto, forcing a very unpiratelike squeak out of him.

Jay grinned. "Who wins between pirates and ninja? Samurai!" he said, and Nya laughed a little bit.

* * *

The pirates had to get into the police cruisers, and the policeman asked, "Good work, team."

"Well, don't forget to include these two," Kai said, dragging Hikari and Lloyd over. Both of them beamed happily.

"Meh, that your ship?" the policeman asked, pointing at the Bounty.

Jay nodded, smiling. "Sure is."

"Sorry," called a familiar voice, as an all too familiar figure stood on deck, "you snooze, you lose!"

"DAD!" Lloyd yelled up, waving his arms as the Bounty started taking off.

Lord Garmadon looked down from where he was standing. "Lloyd, you are becoming stronger, son, but you'll never be strong enough to defeat me!"

"But that's where I come in! Even if Lloyd is never strong enough alone, he still has me!" Hikari yelled up to Lord Garmadon, taking Lloyd's hand.

Lord Garmadon was silent, before they took off. "Another day, ninja- another day." And they disappeared into the distance.

"Ah, young love," Jay sighed jokingly. The other ninja burst out laughing, as Hikari and Lloyd turned to face them. Hikari, having been a bit farther off, hadn't heard them- though Lloyd had. He was pink in the face.

"Huh? What'd you say? Lloyd, you're pink in the face, are you-"

"Nothing! Nothing. What about my face? It's nothing!" Lloyd scrambled to cover, before looking at his dad, hoping that Hikari wouldn't ask. "Dad's on the loose, and he's got the ship."

"Well, at least we have you two," Cole said, patting them on the back. Hikari beamed at Cole, before looking at Lloyd's face. He was still pink.

Hikari looked away innocently. "Lloyd, pink is a very nice color on you," she said, serenely.

Lloyd blinked. "What? I'm not wearing- GAH! HIKARI!" she burst out laughing as he tackled her in a hug/tackle with his face going another shade of red. Everyone laughed at this as the two of them jokingly tussled on the ground.

 **A/N: FINALLY FINISHED!**

 **Seriously, I swear less and less people are reviewing each time, though I guess I AM updating pretty fast.**

 **Llokari fluff! Oh, and remember in Chapter 1, Zane said that the Purple Ninja has a larger chance of being corrupted? Yeah. Get ready for that to become a MUCH larger part of this next section.**

 **Responses to commenters (Fanfiction):**

 **MMM: And you have got the pirates!**

 **strange and proud of it: Thanks!**

 **Shelly Marsh: Oh! Happy birthday! Yeah, I got bored, so... update, update, update.**

 **Michelle Rita: I'll try, but school may eventually get in the way, and I have summer camps pretty soon. I'll try to get as many chapters out of the way as I can before my hectic summer schedule starts. But, yeah, have these chapters, I hope you liked it :)**

 **Bye everyone! See you next time!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	16. Chapter 16

Lloyd was concentrating on the lightbulb as it weakly began to light up. Hikari had gone through about twenty (about two boxes, to Dareth's dismay) before she could control it- at least, control it enough that it didn't explode. Everyone had learned that when Hikari was trying to do that exercise, they needed to hide behind the punching bags.

"Focus, Lloyd," Jay spoke up as Hikari watched Lloyd with a lightbulb in her hands. Next one was her turn. "Control the power inside you. When you feel a surge welling up-" Jay lifted his arms into the air to demonstrate, "harness it!"

"I understand," Lloyd nodded, and then focused his gaze back on the lightbulb. "I am in... control..." he said slowly, beginning to shudder as he glared at the lightbulb.

Hikari glanced away slightly. It sounded a bit like the mental conversations she had with Nariko- the shade within her. She'd named her Nariko because it felt like she had a thunderstorm brewing inside of her when they tried to talk.

She was distracted at the sound of shattering glass, and Lloyd groaned. "Ugggh! Stupid lightbulb!" he said angrily, before turning to the other ninja. "You're putting too much pressure on me!" The ninja all developed a worried/sheepish look on their faces as Lloyd asked, hopefully, "Can I have another try?"

"Ah," Kai said, apologetically, "sorry, Lloyd- last one's Hikari's."

Lloyd looked down with a frustrated look on his face. Around both children lay the scattered remains of about fifty lightbulbs, a new record.

Lloyd looked up at Hikari and clenched his fist. "Go on, Hikari! Try it!"

Hikari smiled brightly at Lloyd. "Okie," she said cheerfully, and then looked down at the lightbulb. Holding the metal part, she stared at it.

The lightbulb began to glow weakly. Almost instantly, Hikari's mind started to shift to the arena, Nariko's familiar red-eyed smirk becoming clearer and clearer by the moment, but she forced herself to think of something else. Kai... Cole... tea... Lloyd...

Her mind cleared, and Hikari blinked slightly as thoughts of Lloyd flooded her head. Lloyd groaning and dragging her along in the street, Lloyd taking her hand reluctantly, Lloyd giving her a big lollipop, Lloyd sitting next to her and sharing a joke...

A small smile formed on her face, and the lightbulb lit up brightly.

"Hey, you did it!"

Almost immediately the glow died, as Hikari was shaken from her thoughts. "Huh? I did?" She looked at the lightbulb, but the searing red-hot wire was fading, leaving almost no trace that she'd done it- but she had.

Jay was jumping around so excitedly you'd've thought that HE was the one to have made the lightbulb glow. "It was so cool! It was flickering like it usually does, like when it explodes and sends glass everywhere, and then suddenly it started glowing really brightly! Except the glow was more like one from a black light, not a regular lightbulb. Which I don't know how you managed to do that. But that was still really cool! That was amazing! How did you do it?" he babbled, at about a mile a minute.

Hikari looked down at the lightbulb, still warm in her hands. A faint blush began to come on her cheeks... it had started glowing when she was thinking about Lloyd. Of course, she'd never admit THAT to anybody...

"I don't know," she said finally, "I guess I just... did."

She'd hardly finished this when Lloyd grabbed her, yanked her to her feet, and jumped her around in a circle in an impromptu celebration, being careful not to have her step on the glass. "You did it!" he yelled, happily.

Hikari was caught off guard, but once she got her wits back she could not stop giggling. "Usually I start this, not you," she commented, still tittering.

"Well I'm happy for you- ow!" Lloyd stopped and reflexively grabbed his foot; Hikari knew that he'd stepped on the glass.

Hikari giggled again. "Well, let's clean up all this glass first- otherwise this room's just going to be a huge minefield," she said, going over and picking up of the brooms. Without thinking, she tossed it over her shoulder, and Lloyd caught it easily before going and sweeping up some of the glass with her.

Jay's smile faded as he frowned and grumbled. "Ugh, Sensei Wu, what am I doing wrong? I can't seem to teach him or Hikari to control his power consciously!" he whined a little bit. Although it was really a bit more out of worry- after all, these two kids WERE going to be the greatest ninjas in all of Ninjago, they had to be trained properly.

"Patience, Jay," Sensei Wu spoke, "sometimes the greatest opponent we must face is ourselves- and that's especially true for Lloyd and Hikari," the two kids were now playing a game to see who could sweep up the most glass. "Remember where they come from. After all, Lloyd is the son of Lord Garmadon, and Hikari comes from a childhood where her only company was Lloyd for a long time. It will take them time to embrace the light."

Right as he finished, and as the two dumped their glass-and-metal shards into the trash can, Nya opened the door and walked in. "Hey guys!" Nya said, and everyone chorused, "Hey Nya!"

Nya walked right over to Jay, making Hikari beam like a ray of sunlight. "Hey Jay... wanna come by the auto-body shop later?" she asked, sounding slightly shy and slightly hopeful at the same time.

Jay's face was the same hot pink as the shade Lloyd had dyed Zane's suit. "The, uh, auto-body shop?" he asked, blushing as he approached his girlfriend a bit.

"Yeah," Nya said, still hopefully, "I got a part time job. Thought I could fix the Ultra-Sonic Raider in my off time."

Lloyd pointed at Hikari, triumph written all over his face. "See, Hikari? I told you that name would catch on!" he said, triumphantly. Hikari giggled at him a bit, gently pushing him. "All right, all right- you don't have to say it twice," she giggled, and he pushed her back. The two of them had a little shoving match with twin, happy smiles written all over their faces.

"Maybe if you come over," Nya said, after the couple finished 'aww'ing at the two kids playing around (or 'flirting', as Jay called it whenever he thought they weren't listening. Lloyd had heard one time and punched him on the shoulder).

"Hehe, sure!" Jay said, his face less pink now, "Um, what have you got there?" He looked at the paper in Nya's hand, and Hikari looked over when she heard this.

Nya blinked. "Huh-? Oh, this letter came for Lloyd." Lloyd looked over now as well, and the two kids came over to where Sensei Wu and the others were standing. Sensei Wu took the letter and looked at it. "Hmm, it's from Lloyd's old school."

"Darkley's?" Hikari asked, curiously, and Sensei Wu nodded. Cole and the others came over from their conversation in the corner, joining them near the doorway. "The Darkley's School for Bad Boys?"

" _Formerly_ Bad Boys," Sensei Wu corrected, "since the last time we were there, they... changed, to the Darkley's School for Great Children."

Kai smirked and chuckled a bit. "Wait, they've turned good?" he asked, through the chuckle. Sensei Wu looked back down at the paper in his hand. "It says here there's going to be a ceremony," he read off the paper.

Cole grinned. "I LOVE ceremonies! That means there's gonna be cake!"

Hikari had to bury her head in Lloyd's shoulder to keep from exploding in a burst of laughter. "Lloyd's change inspired them," Sensei Wu said to the ninja, and Nya, "now they've invited Lloyd to give him an honorary degree in excellence."

Lloyd grinned a little. "Hey, sweet! And Hikari can go sneaking through the secret passageways."

Everyone looked at Hikari, who smiled sheepishly. "You'd be surprised how bored you get when you have to stay in a broom closet all day... I happened to push on one of the walls really hard one day while trying to stretch. I found a secret passageway... well, THE secret passageway- the walls of the whole school contain a huge maze of secret passageways that are all interconnecting. It's really cool- like being in a spy movie!" she said, beaming cheerfully.

Cole scratched his head. "I didn't think you'd be the type to be into spy movies."

"Yeah, spy movies are great," Hikari said cheerily.

* * *

"WOOHOO!" Jay yelled, as Lloyd held the reins of the Ultra-Dragon tightly. Hikari was sitting right next to him, taking the other end, but unlike him she was a bit looser and freer with the reins, and encouraged him to do the same.

"Now that the dragon can fly again, we should be there at Darkley's in no time!" Jay said cheerfully, and Kai grimaced. "That is if Lloyd and Hikari can get us there in one piece..."

Hikari had listened to Cole's advice to be loose, but since the two kids insisted on driving (heh, driving) the Ultra-Dragon together, they often ended up flying somewhat lopsided. The other day Lloyd had pulled far too sharp a turn, and Hikari had nearly fallen off. It had taken a huge sweeping dive and a bruised rib for Hikari to keep her from going splat on the pavement.

"Just be gentle," Cole instructed mostly Lloyd, since Hikari was already being pretty gentle. "Any sudden moves may cause the dragon to-"

"ANY SUDDEN WHAT?" Lloyd yelled, jerking up on his side of the reins as he tried to hear Cole. This caused the Ultra-Dragon to plummet straight down in a dive. Hikari let out a slight squeak as everyone started screaming in fear.

"THE REINS! LET GO OF THE REINS!" Cole screeched over everyone's screams. Lloyd and Hikari both gently set the reins down, and the dragon's sudden plummeting dive evened out into more of a glide as they circled once, twice, and landed in front of the school gates.

"At least I'm getting better," Lloyd said, sheepishly, as Hikari shakily got off the dragon. "All the same," Cole said, "I think I'll take the reins going home."

"Fine by me," Hikari squeaked as they walked inside the gates, reading the sign before passing through.

A boy with black hair and a blue sweater turned around from where he was tending the flowers, and asked, with wide eyes, "Lloyd?"

Lloyd looked down from the sign and blinked. "Uh... Brad?" he asked, sounding more confused, and the boy fled forward with a grin. "You came! So good to see you-" and he clapped Lloyd on the back with a hug. Lloyd didn't reciprocate, and said, with a perplexed smile, "Um... it is? You put fire ants in my bed."

Brad said, pleasantly, to Lloyd, "Please forgive me for that- I wasn't myself! And I've learned the error of my ways... oh, and this must be the ninja!"

Lloyd stepped aside, letting the ninja come forward a bit, "Uh, guys, meet Brad Tudabone," he introduced them, and Brad came forward and shook their hands. When he came to Hikari though, he stopped. "Oh... are you the Purple Ninja?"

Hikari nodded, smiling slightly. "Mmhm," she said, pleasantly, "My name's Hikari, it's nice to meet you."

He grinned and shook her hand, making her blink in surprise. "Please, will you not all follow me to see the principal?" he asked, politely, and started leading the way into the school, still holding Hikari's hand.

Lloyd glared slightly at this, but came up behind them anyway.

Hikari blushed slightly; usually Lloyd was the only one to hold her hand, and it didn't feel weird at all anymore- well, I mean, now she developed butterflies for some reason, but it still wasn't weird to her. Brad wasn't Lloyd, though- holding his hand felt odd and almost different... yes, different.

As they walked through the school hallway, Hikari gently disengaged herself from him, hoping he didn't find it rude. "I-I can walk by myself," she said, shyly, and Brad bowed slightly while walking- which looked very awkward. "Oh! Of course. Forgive me if I caused you any discomfort."

"N-no, I'm fine..." and she blushed even more. She was used to roughhousing gently with Lloyd, so this very formal politeness made her feel awkward and shy.

Lloyd's scowl grew more pronounced.

"Shouldn't you all be in class?" Cole asked, Hikari dropping towards the back of the group, as they passed an empty classroom.

Brad explained, "Actually, today is a new Darkley School tradition- _Ninja Day._ We stay out of sight to honor the way of the ninja, for showing us the light."

Hikari passed her old broom closet, and she paused and looked at it before continuing along with the others again, although she had to run a bit to keep up now. "This is a good school- I'm impressed," Cole said, as they walked to the principal's office.

"Oh, Principal Noble? Lloyd and the ninja are here for the ceremony!" Brad called through the door.

"That and the cake," Cole said, making Hikari dive back outside to stop giggling. Her giggles were incredibly contagious and very heavy; once you got her truly laughing it was a very long, arduous process to get her to stop again. "By the way, do you know what kind it is-?"

"Just a moment!" Principal Noble called, and Brad said, kindly, "I should get back to the flowers-" and he slammed the door behind him. Hikari stopped giggling, a little confused. "Oh, um, Brad, I have to get in too..."

Brad looked at her, panic on his expression. Hikari's eyes narrowed. That wasn't right, why did he look panicked? She chanced a glance through the window, and her eyes widened- a kid with orange hair had just cut a rope with scissors... and sandbags fell on the ninja, and Lloyd!

Hikari's eyes widened. She looked at Brad, who had a very similar expression on her face, and then took off the other direction.

"Hey! Come back here!"

 _Fat chance,_ she thought, desperately skidding around the corner. She dodged into her broom closet and gently shut the door, before huddling behind the mop. _Just like old times,_ she thought almost hysterically.

The door banged open again, Brad looking around inside. His eyes skated over the mop, behind which Hikari was hiding, and around the broom closet. He frowned and shut the door again, shouting out to the other students to look out for a little girl wearing a purple ninja gi. Hikari let out a little sigh of relief, her heart pounding away inside her chest.

She was safe...

For now.

After her momentary panic faded to nothing, she lifted her head and looked at the wall behind her. Was this the wall...? Yes, she remembered now, push hard on the wall and then up the ladder.

She turned around and pushed, shoving hard. She barely needed to exert any energy before the wall rumbled slightly and slid out of the way. She blinked; apparently she'd developed some more muscle.

She stepped inside and climbed up the ladder, walked across the floor, and then started wandering around the passageway, tilting her head to listen for any telltale signs of the ninja, or Lloyd, but there was none...

Yet.

* * *

"Didn't Hikari mention that there was a network of secret passageways in the school?" Zane asked the ninja. Kai's amber eyes lit up with excitement. "Now that you mention it...! Okay, everyone, look for a hidden switch! It could be anything! A-a book, a trophy, a fixture!"

Everyone fanned out through the room, checking behind paintings, through bookshelves, under the rug...

Jay tugged on one book, and a mechanical 'clunk' rang out. "I found it!" he called, waving.

The ceiling started closing in on them, and Kai yelped, "Wrong switch!"

Of course, _of course,_ this school was originally built for evil, why had they not thought about the fact that there were going to be booby traps along with the secret passageways?!

"Keep looking!" he ordered, voice cracking, and everyone started searching faster than ever now.

Cole twisted a potted plant, which gave another metallic thunk. "Aha!"

His voice had barely finished escaping his mouth when metallic SPIKES grew from the ceiling like some sort of bizarre crabgrass, with a metallic _shing!_ "Oh, that's just so evil!" Cole exclaimed with frustration as the spikes started descending even faster. Zane looked around quickly and tilted a light fixture slightly, making one last metallic clunk. Hopefully it was the right one.

A door in the back of the fireplace opened, and he immediately charged through. "This way!"

Everyone charged into the darkness without hesitation.

A minute later, Jay started cackling. "Hahaha! S-stop ti-tickling me!" he giggled.

"I'm not tickling you," Cole said to blackness. "Zane, can you give us some light?" Kai asked, and Zane's face suddenly lit up (literally), glowing brightly like a lightbulb.

All of them shrieked as they came face-to-face with hundreds of spiders.

* * *

Hikari heard some footsteps, and began to look more quickly, searching intently for Lloyd or the ninja now, urgently-

"Haha, c'mon, you can untie me!" Lloyd said, in the tone Hikari knew so well as 'lying-through-my-teeth-and-not-that-convincingly-at-that'. "Really, this is such a HUGE relief-"

Hikari's ears pricked up, and she followed it until it sounded like Lloyd was right below her. Pressing her ear to the 'floor', she listened intently, and was rewarded to hear him saying, "Thank you for saving me!"

"How do we know you're not lying to us just to escape, and help the ninja?" Brad asked, sounding menacing... a huge deviation from the boy who'd held her hand coming into the school.

"If I am truly good," Lloyd said, "I wouldn't be able to lie, which I'm not, but even if I was, wouldn't lying make me evil, thus giving you assurance that you could release me!"

Hikari resisted the urge to bang her head on the floor, as she was fairly sure she was standing on the ceiling of the room Lloyd was in. She inspected the floor and moved her fingers along it. Wood, and there was a few slightly loose boards that were an inch away from her. She knew, because one time she'd crashed right through them, and barely escaped by fleeing into a nearby, very tight air duct.

She heard something very vaguely about doomsday formations, and she ignored it as she dropped into the room. Lloyd looked very startled to see her, but his face practically lit up and glowed with joy. "Hikari! You came!"

"Of course I came, you're my best friend!" Hikari said innocently, beaming at him before hugging him tightly. "Oh, I'm _so_ happy to see you're okay!"

"Yeah- now, how do I get out of here?"

Hikari frowned, she was never good with knots, and it would take far too long to detangle the complicated knot that kept Lloyd trussed up like a turkey. "... I..." she mumbled, frowning... how to get him out...?

There were sounds as the kids ran away, and Hikari didn't dwell on that as she bit her lip. "Um, maybe... maybe I could... um..." she looked around again, desperately. Lloyd groaned a little. "Why do I always get tied up?" he groaned, "think I'd be pretty good with knots by now."

Hikari, despite this situation, had to giggle, and then the room was suddenly plunged into darkness as the lightbulb flickered.

Their eyes lit up at exactly the same time. "The lightbulb!" they chorused, cheerfully.

They both looked up and focused on the lightbulb, the light burning their eyes a little, as they concentrated.

Immediately, Hikari felt the arena creeping into her vision... she automatically reached out...

Her hand touched Lloyd's, and his hand tightened on hers automatically, even in the awkward position of him being tied to the chair. Her face turned pink as the butterflies sprang to life, and the lightbulb shattered onto the floor.

Hikari grabbed a shard of glass (in doing so, she had to let go of Lloyd's hand and missed the slight pout that fixed itself on his face) and put it to the rope, sawing through it very quickly. Her hand slipped once or twice, and sliced her finger, but she ignored the cut as she cut through the last rope. Lloyd grinned. "Yes! Finally! I'm free!" he cheered.

Right then the door opened, Gene being the one at the door.

Lloyd groaned. "Aww, no way!"

Hikari slapped her forehead in frustration.

"Your friends are pure evil," Gene sniggered as they blocked the door.

Hikari and Lloyd both frowned. They looked at each other, and then back at Gene.

"What?"

"Never mind that," Hikari said after only a second of silence, and then to Lloyd: "Stand back a second-" She aimed at the door and fired.

A bolt of lightning shot out and incinerated the door to infinitesimal ashes, and Lloyd and Hikari charged through while Gene yelled in frustration. Along the way, Hikari ran head-first into Brad- she ignored him and turned the corner.

She stopped in her tracks at the incredibly weird sight of the ninja fighting... themselves?

The two Zane's headbutted each other, the two Cole's legs met in midair, the two Kai's grappled with one another, and the two Jay's punches met in midair, as the fighting continued, Lloyd and Hikari blinked before exchanging a look. "Uhhhhhhh..."

"The evil ninja must be my father's doing," Lloyd said, narrowing his eyes at the ninja, unable to tell which was which in the dim light and from a distance.

Gene stroked his chin. "Fascinating... it's like fighting a mirror, where the reflection countermoves in perfect sync. And no one appears to be able to land a blow. Presumably, if one of the evil ninja- or the good ninja- landed a positive blow on their counterparts, the spark of negative energy meeting positive energy would be so powerful, as to eradicate the opposite."

"We have to help them," Lloyd said, determinedly.

"Just to be clear, which them?" Gene asked, his nasal voice filled with an evil undertone.

Hikari suddenly shuddered, and her eyes flashed red. Lloyd, who'd been about to respond, looked at Hikari in concern. "H-Hikari?"

 _See? You care for your friends! Let me take over, and I'll be able to help you defeat them!_ Nariko said encouragingly, smooth voice dripping with persuasion.

 ** _Judging by previous actions you'd hurt my REAL friends, and help their evil counterparts._**

 _How do you know me so well? It's like talking to my shadow._

 _ **Says the black shade standing on the dark side of the arena. I**_ **told _you before, I don't. Need. Your help. Go away!_**

The feeling passed, and Hikari straightened back up with a slight cough. She noticed Brad starting towards her, looking concerned, before stopping and letting his expression turn back into an evil one.

She glanced at Lloyd, whose face was set in a bit of a scowl- which meant he'd DEFINITELY noticed. He glanced at Hikari, his expression saying 'Are you okay?' She nodded, and then jerked her head slightly at Brad. Lloyd tilted his head, and then he nodded. When had those two gotten so good at reading one another?

"All right, you win- we're good," Lloyd said, taking Hikari's hand, "but guess what?"

"So's _Brad!_ " Hikari said, smiling mischievously at the black-haired boy. Brad's evil smirk turned to a slightly angry but mostly panicked look. "That's a lie!" he said, pointing at the two.

"Is it?" Hikari asked, "then explain just now, when I recovered from that... er... thing, you started towards me with a concerned look?"

"And explain," Lloyd picked up, the same mischievous smile on his face as was on Hikari's, "why on the day we first met, you were nice to me?"

Every boy looked at Brad, who looked back. "When I arrived here on my first day, I didn't know how things worked around here. Everyone made fun of me, and Brad even put fire ants in my bed."

Gene sniggered evilly. "Yeah, I remember that. That was evil."

"Buuuut," Lloyd gently intervened, "later, when everyone was gone, he said he was just trying to teach me how things worked, and after that, he took me under his wing, and he taught me the art of revenge."

"Why would you do that?" Gene asked Brad, who looked nervous. "I... I wanted to get in good with his father," Brad uttered, trying for a confident smile and achieving more of a grimace.

Lloyd shook his head. "Noo, it's because deep down, he's not all evil."

"Brad's not the only one- face it, all of you here have a secret good side, that stays quiet out of fear," Hikari piped up, "and thinks they're alone- but they're not. And Lloyd's living proof!" she poked him in the cheek with her free hand. Lloyd glared and swatted her, making her laugh a little.

"So," Lloyd said, after she'd subsided, "who's with us?" And he raised the hand that was holding Hikari's, nearly yanking her up off the floor altogether. As it was Hikari was on the very tips of her toes.

Brad sighed and came over. Lloyd tighted his grip on her hand protectively. "It's true," Brad sighed, "and I love planting flowers."

Gene screeched, "You what?!"

"Also," Brad said, walking over to the others, "the ninja saved my life- a kindness I plan to return."

And all the other boys walked so they were standing behind Hikari and Lloyd. Gene looked rather unhappy, and more nervous than evil. "My dad is going to be soo mad," he groaned.

Lloyd chuckled. "Yeah- join the club."

And Gene did.

"Now then, I think I have a plan," Lloyd said, smiling at the boys slightly, "who here can sew?"

All the boys let out an exclamation as Lloyd raised his free hand. "SEW?" Brad shouted, loudly.

"Yes, sew. Or, at least mend clothing with a sewing needle and thread," Hikari piped up, and all the boys reluctantly raised their hands.

The next few minutes ("we have to pull this off as fast as we can," Hikari said, sewing an outfit for Gene furiously and almost pricking her finger) was a hectic mess of sewing needles, thread, and bolts of red, white, black, and blue cloth all over the floor. And scissors. Lots of scissors. Turned out all the boys at Darkley were expert sewers ("you guys should start a costume making service," Hikari told them, half jokingly and half serious) and soon they all pulled on ninja outfits. Except for Hikari and Lloyd, who were already wearing their's, of course.

They charged into the hallway. "Ninja-GO!" both Lloyd and Hikari shouted, to find most of the hallway overturned and the ninja still in the throes of battle. "NINJA-GO!" they shouted again, flooding into the hallway and into the middle of the battle along with the rest of the students.

"Huh, really is Ninja Day," Cole said, admiringly.

Kai blocked a few more hits. "Ohhh, I see what they're doing," he said, suddenly, "they're trying to confuse them!"

"Yeah, but it's confusing me, too!" Jay said, ducking one hit as the boys all flooded into the hallway.

The kids all jumped on Bizarro Zane (since he had red eyes, pale skin, and cruel expression, unlike the real Zane- hey, that was good! These were the Bizarro Ninja now) and knocked him over, but he kicked them all out of the area.

"Keep your focus. Ninja-GO!" Zane shouted, and Spinjitzued into Bizarro Zane. They spun around a bit before spitting him out, knocking Bizarro Zane into a shelf and making him burst into fine black dust.

"It works just as Gene said!" Lloyd yelled, "if you can land a hit, they'll be defeated!"

Lloyd dodged as Bizarro Jay tried to punch him, and Hikari stuck her leg out. Bizarro Jay tripped over the leg as Hikari skipped out of the way.

Bizarro Cole started throwing students around, until Hikari spun into him with her Spinjitzu tornado suddenly. "Got you!" she shouted, knocking him away straight into Cole's punch. "Good riddance!" Cole yelled, dispersing Bizarro Cole into the same dust. Hikari felt the tugging in her gut and the twinge in her head she usually got when she sensed a death.

The two Jays were grappling. "Don't think you can get rid of us that easily," Bizarro Jay sneered, "by the way, did I mention that I kissed Nya?"

"WHAT?!" Every student cringed in pain as Jay's voice rang through the hallway.

Jay flipped over Bizarro Jay and kicked him right in the back, making Bizarro Jay explode into dust. "NOBODY kisses my girl!" Jay yelled through his mask, sounding furious.

A smoke bomb hit Bizarro Kai in the eyes, and he yelled in pain. "Argh! I- I can't see! Ahh!" he groaned, and Kai walked up to him casually. Kai tapped him on the shoulder. Bizarro Kai turned, and Kai punched him into the wall, making him dissolve again.

Everyone in the hallway cheered loudly as Brad shouted, "Lloyd, Hikari, you did it!"

"No," Lloyd spoke again, "WE did it!"

More cheering as Hikari beamed happily. As if on an impulse, both boys grabbed Hikari in a hug. Then they glared daggers at each other. She was happily oblivious to it, though, squirming out of their grip, dusting herself off... and then tackling Lloyd to the floor. "You were _brilliant_ , Lloyd, just _brilliant!_ That idea with the sewing, BRILLIANT!" she squealed, happily.

Lloyd grinned at her. Brad smiled slightly, before whispering to Lloyd, "You'd better watch out for her, Lloyd."

"Don't I always?" Lloyd smirked at Brad as the teachers came out of the closet. "Normally, we'd punish you for holding us captive," Principal Noble said, approaching all of the boys and the ninja, "but I guess now that we've all learned a valuable lesson, I guess that's cause for a celebration."

Hikari giggled at Cole's hopeful expression, and said to them, kindly, "That wouldn't mean cake, now would it?" she asked, cheerfully.

* * *

Cole took the dragon as the rest of the ninja took the Ultra-Sonic Raider. Lloyd sat in the farthest seat, and Hikari sat next to him- they fit at a very tight squeeze, especially since Nya had widened the seat a little due to people saying it was not a comfortable seat.

They all joked around (while Cole ate some cake that they'd let him take home), until the front screen flickered to life. Lord Garmadon stood there with the Mega-Weapon, glaring at them. "So... it's true. You HAVE destroyed my evil ninja."

"Keep it comin', Garmadon," Kai said confidently, "your attempts to stop us are only making us stronger!"

Garmadon tried to reply, but the screen flickered, and then changed to static.

"Nya will be displeased... she just repaired it," Zane commented, "and it appears it ALREADY has to go back to the shop."

"Nahh, it's not broken," Lloyd said, pulling something out and handing one to Hikari. When Kai twisted it looked like two game controllers.

The two of them- Hikari and Lloyd- sent another flood of electricity into the system, and video game music began to play, two little fighting avatars appearing on that screen.

They all looked at them, having to raise their heads a little. " _You two_ did that? But- it didn't blow up!"

"Hey, you go to school," Lloyd said, grinning slightly, and Hikari finished for him, "and sometimes you might pick up a thing or two!"

Everyone burst out laughing as Lloyd and Hikari started battling each other on the screen, joking to one another about how one was going to kick the others butt, and the whole time not noticing that they were leaning into one another slightly.

 **A/N: Soo much Llokari fluff... hey, and Brad Tudabone had a fun little role in this chapter!**

 **OMG, this story gets soo much positive feedback! Thanks, everyone!**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **Michelle Rita: Well, no, at that time I lost interest, but now my brain is back in Ninjago mode full time! I don't really pace myself, I write as fast as I can in case I can't update (like I couldn't yesterday).**

 **Shelly Marsh: Yeah, Llokari fluff is the best fluff. x3 I can't wait for that episode either- I think there are only three more!**

 **MMM: Well, you has your answer- and yes, I have, actually. The only thing I can say to answer that question fully is, if you want a different perspective, you're going to like Season 4. :)**

 **Quotev:**

 **Kai Alison Flame: Thanks! I'm glad you found it funny :)**

 **DarkTeddyXX: Mine is a tie between Kai and Lloyd.**

 **lloydninjago: Haha, nice Star Wars reference.**

 **cookiecat567: I do like SAO, yeah, but like I said in my reply, it was mostly an accident (for the dad's name, not the face claim). Do you like SAO too?**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	17. Chapter 17

Lloyd stood on his one hand, straining. Hikari was balancing on top of him using one foot and one hand, resulting in quite the contortion as she tried to even out her weight and make sure Lloyd didn't have to bear too much more.

"Focus. You must bear the weight of Ninjago on your shoulders, therefore you must first learn to bear the weights of all of us," Sensei Wu told the two. Zane stood on Hikari's back, widening out his feet so it didn't cause Hikari too much pain, and in turn she flattened out her back so he didn't fall straight off. Jay wobbled on top of Zane's left shoulder, and Kai on Zane's right. Cole stood on Zane's shoulders and carried Sensei Wu on his shoulders, making a slightly wobbly tower of ninja.

"Sensei, I'm starting to think this was a bad idea," Jay said, worriedly, as Hikari desperately tried to stay still to avoid unseating them all. "Yeah, Sensei, they're just kids," Cole said and looked down at the straining children.

"Th... this isn't too bad," Hikari squeaked from her very precarious position. Truth be told, her back was starting to hurt... and her other hand and foot were touching each other, making her wobble off balance. If they were all going to topple off right now it would most likely be her fault.

"In order for them to succeed," Sensei Wu said patiently, drinking his tea, "we must all trust one another."

Hikari could hear a truck moving along behind them, but didn't think much of it.

Lloyd grunted slightly as he strained, and suddenly the wall exploded. Everyone was sent flying, and Hikari let out a cry as she was sent hurtling along. She landed on something soft, which grunted slightly. Opening her eyes, she found she'd landed on top of Lloyd, and their faces were now right up against each other.

Hikari apologized, over and over, as she managed to (painfully) stand up. When she turned, she saw a huge wrecking ball hanging there, as glass was scattered all over the floor.

"What was that?!" Cole complained, as she shook her head through the dust.

Two workers stared at them from where they were standing near the demolished wall. Glass was in Hikari's hair, and Lloyd carefully started picking them out. She smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "Th-thanks, Lloyd."

"No problem- you'd do the same for me,"he said, as Dareth came thundering in. "WHOA WHOA WHOA!" he screeched, "this wasn't supposed to happen, until TOMORROW!"

"Tomorrow?" one of the workers asked, "let me see that order." The other worker handed it over, and he chuckled, sheepishly. "O-oh yeah... my bad! Sorry about that!"

"Sorry? _Sorry!?_ " Hikari shouted, making everyone look at her in surprise, "you need to be more careful, you could really have hurt us all badly!" she scolded them. She looked like an angry teacher scolding her students, except she could've been the student and the workers could've easily been her teachers.

The worker winced slightly and managed a nervous smile. "S... sorry. We'll be back in the morning," and then they ran away. Hikari glared at them with a pout on her face as Lloyd pulled the last glass shard out of her hair. Dareth grimaced and picked up one of his bent trophies.

"Uh, Dareth? What is this all about?" Cole asked, frowning as he got up painfully.

Dareth sighed. "Well, I fell behind on some of my payments, and some developer named Darnagom Enterprises is buying the ENTIRE block to put in some stupid Frisbee Golf course," he groaned. "They say if I don't come up with fifty thousand by tomorrow, the dojo is gone."

"But, we already lost the Bounty, we can't lose the dojo now!" Jay protested, eyes wide with horror.

Hikari was staring at the sign and muttering softly to herself. "Darnagom, O Grandma, Garnadom.. Gardamon... GARMADON!" Hikari yelped. Everyone looked at her as she pointed. "Rearrange the M, G, N, and D, and you have Garmadon Enterprises!" she said, staring at the sign. "That... canNOT be a coincidence."

Kai growled. Lloyd groaned. "My dad is behind this?"

"I think I see his reasoning- if you guys can't train Lloyd and me, we're never going to reach OUR true potential, and we'll never fulfill our destiny as the Green and Purple Ninja," Hikari speculated.

Zane shook his head, "You come up with the most accurate answers when we really need it. You really deserve more credit," he commented to Hikari. Hikari shrugged. "I don't need credit- I just need friends!"

"Any chance you've got fifty thousand in that teapot of yours?" Dareth asked, gloomily.

"Worry not, Dareth. You are not in this alone. We are all with you," Sensei Wu said comfortingly, as Nya came in. "Did someone say fifty thousand?" she asked, in the doorway.

Jay let out a gasp. "You didn't happen to win the lottery?"

"No," Nya said, approaching, "but I heard about Ninjaball Run."

Every ninja in the room chorused, "Ninjaball Run?"

"I think my mom and dad used to mention it. Isn't it some big race?" Hikari asked, tilting her head slightly at Nya.

"Yeah, it's the BIGGEST road race in Ninjago. With the prize of 100,000 big ones!" she said, smiling brightly. "AND it's tomorrow!"

Dareth sighed again, looking all gloomy once more. "I thank you, little lady fighter, but you're talking about the most dangerous race known to man. Only the most serious of racers even stand a chance."

"But didn't you just a do a few upgrades to the Ultra-Sonic Raider?" Kai asked his sister, who nodded confirmation, "Maybe we might stand a chance!"

"And I can enter with the dragon! You did say I needed the practice," Lloyd said, grinning. Hikari rubbed the back of her head, "I think I could enter with Lloyd," she said, hopefully, "and we DO need to practice together..."

Lloyd and Hikari were getting much better- only once in ten runs would Hikari fall off the dragon now, and they hardly ever plunged and dived unless they needed to.

"Well, actually Hikari, I was tinkering around- I made this," Nya said, bringing in what seemed like a small fighter jet. "It's more of a test run than anything, but it has gadgets and it's stronger than an armored car, so you'd be perfectly safe. If this one works, I could easily make bigger ones for everyone else, too- since you're probably the only one who can fit in this thing."

Hikari tilted her head, and looked at everyone. They nodded encouragingly. She looked back at Nya, and smiled slightly. "O... okay. Lloyd, you're going to have to fly the dragon by yourself..."

"No problem," Lloyd said casually, "it's good practice for times when you're not going to be able to ride the dragon with me."

"Exactly," Hikari said, beaming.

"So it is settled," Sensei Wu said simply, "You will all enter this 'Ninjaball Run', to save the dojo."

Dareth was crying, to Hikari's slight alarm. "Oh, don't cry!" she said, running over, "why are you crying?"

"These... these are, happy tears," Dareth said, smiling through tears.

* * *

"Welcome everyone, to the 14th Annual Ninjaball Run!" the announcer... er... announced. Hikari was in the fighter jet. She did fit nicely, and the controls were easily within reach, but she was still very nervous. While Nya had given her a crash course on how to fly it, (and compared it to playing a video game), Hikari was still incredibly nervous. After all, there were sooo many things that could go wrong...

She glanced out the window. Lloyd waved at her energetically from his dragon, and she waved back, feeling a more relaxed feeling creep into her rebelling stomach.

"Let's take a look at the racers!" the announcer shouted, and Hikari snapped back to attention as they started announcing, Lloyd grinning at her bravely. Hikari managed a sheepish smile and waved back, until the announcer shouted, "All right! The race is about to start, we're about to begin!"

"I gotta go, good luck!" Nya said to the ninja, and ran off. Kai reached out after his sister, yelling something, but then let out an annoyed groan.

Zane waved at Hikari and knelt down so he could see her better. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone just released the entire butterfly exhibit from the zoo into my stomach," Hikari replied, double-checking the controls again for the twelfth time.

"You'll do fine," he said soothingly, patting her on the head and then returning to the others.

"Wait a minute," shouted the announcer, "it appears some skeletons have crashed the party! Is that against the rules?" he asked his friend.

His friend said, flamboyantly, "RULES? Ha, there's only ONE rule in Ninjaball Run, and that's cross the finish line first! Let's take a look at the course!"

Hikari began to flick switches to prepare for takeoff as she dutifully looked up at the screen. "The race starts on the streets of Ninjago City, and empties onto the treacherous Sea of Sand, racers, look out for the dangerous freeway known as Crash Course Canyon, the slightest mistake can be your last! The next leg takes us onto the winding maze known as the Birchwood Forest, then through the icy and perilous Glacier Barrens. Finally, in the fourth and final leg, racers must beat the desert heat in the Badlands, which takes us back to the finish line, here in the heart of Ninjago City!"

"Good luck!" she yelled to Kai and the others. "You too!" Kai agreed, waving furiously at her. Hikari managed a small smile, and turned back to the controls. "Keep focused," she added as an afterthought.

"One final word," the announcer shouted, "let's have a good, clean race!"

More cheering, so loud that Hikari had to resist the urge to clamp her hands over her ears. "So good luck to everyone!" the announcer shouted, and then a light started flashing down.

Red. Hikari checked the controls one last time.

Yellow. Hikari now pressed the engine, prepared to get it going. "On your mark... get set..."

Green. "GO!" Hikari took off, retracting the wheels on her fighter jet with a few levers.

Lloyd tore past her as the dragon took off suddenly, and she looked back at a spectacularly loud sound to see the Ultra-Sonic Raider had lurched to a stop. Cole saw her looking and yelled, "Don't worry about us, we'll catch up!"

Hikari hesitated one more moment, before smoothly rotating and rocketing after the others.

Since she was in the air, she had the slightest advantage in that there were no others besides Lloyd with her. But besides that she had to contend with all the extra controls, and she was constantly in motion.

 _Breathe. Smooth and steady._ Hikari settled into more of a rhythm, although she was still nervous. However a part of her was completely exhilarated- she was _flying_ this thing, all on her own too!

Below her a crashing, skidding sound could be heard, and she glanced down to see the pirates getting skidded off the track a little bit. She winced sympathetically before focusing back on the race. Jay's parents were blazing ahead with some tires that looked like large, patched beach balls. They were gently ramming their way to the front, if 'gently ramming' is a thing.

She pulled a tight turn, and heard Lloyd let out a loud yell as he went swerving in the wrong direction. She shook her head slightly. "Oh, Ultra Dragon, why must you be such a jerk to Lloyd?" she joked softly to herself.

Suddenly, the Serpentine bus (and two police cruisers) joined in on the race. Hikari leaned over to look at it, although her hand was tight on the controls now that she had less to do. "Isn't that against the rules?" she wondered.

Hikari couldn't hear the announcer, but she was pretty sure they were probably shouting something about the new competitors. She glanced down at the Serpentine before getting back on track with her work.

Now they were entering the Sea of Sand, and the racers below were starting to ram each other out of the way. Hikari glanced at the gadgets but decided against using them; knowing her she probably had mixed up all of the buttons and what they did.

Crash Course Canyon was coming up, and below her Jay's parents released their beach ball things. Hikari tore her eyes off the course below and focused as she blasted into Crash Course Canyon.

The ninja followed, not too far behind, before suddenly a familiar shadow loomed over them. If Hikari looked, she knew she would see the huge, red-and-purple form of the Bounty soaring over them. She got closer to the ninja. "GUYS!" she yelled, "Garmadon's following you guys-"

She glanced back again to see him preparing a cannon. "And I'm _pretty sure he's aiming a cannon at you!_ " she screamed.

"Oh, we're so totally hooped! There's nowhere to run!" Jay moaned aloud.

Hikari kept looking back as she looked at the gadgets, then back at the Bounty, and her heart leapt with joy as suddenly the Ultra-Dragon- the wonderful, brilliant Ultra-Dragon who'd _finally_ gotten back on track with Lloyd- came swooping around the corner.

Lloyd dived at the last second to avoid a collision with the Bounty, but still clipped it, making the entire Bounty's prow flick upwards and the cannon that suddenly fired fly askew. A cannon soared straight over Hikari's head and smashed into the ground in front of them, and she rose up to see over it.

The Ultra-Sonic Raider blazed right through the dust storm that had just blazed up, and she let out a whoop and a pure, happy laugh as she dove back down near them.

"Nice going, Lloyd!" she yelled to her best friend, as he tried to stand up to greet her. The uneven movement of the Ultra Dragon unseated him, and he fell forward and caught the reins.

"You saved us!" Cole said, grinning at Lloyd. Lloyd blinked, looking totally confused. "I-I did? I mean, I did! Hey," and he was smiling through his mask now, Hikari could see from the way his eyes crinkled up, "What do you say we work together?"

"I say, let's do it!" Hikari shouted, and the ninja all chorused agreement before rocketing forward.

Now, they were heading into the Birchwood Forest, passing Cole's dad, and Lloyd yelled to the others, "Let's find a shortcut!" He rose, checked, before diving back down. "Follow me!"

They all veered to follow them, Hikari doing a barrel roll by accident as she turned.

"Huh, looks like they're getting the hang of it!" Jay said, and Cole commented, "and it looks like we're making up for lost time!"

Suddenly, a bony grappling hook looped around the Ultra-Dragon's foot, and yanked it down. Lloyd yelled, and Hikari cried out in shock and fear as he hit the ground, hard. If it was any consolation the skeletons also crashed, and Hikari balked.

Lloyd noticed, and gave his best friend a brave grin. "Don't worry- go on ahead, Hikari! I'll be fine!"

Hikari hesitated a moment more before saying softly, "Okay... if you insist." And then she turned and blasted off again, trying to make up for lost time. She'd probably been waiting too long...

She soon managed to catch up to the ninja, but at this point something was happening- the little fighter jet was starting to sputter.

She checked the readings, and noticed that not only was fuel starting to run a bit low, but the cold levels were creeping in- this jet must not like standing the cold.

Kai noticed the fighter jet beginning to drop behind. "Hikari?"

"My plane's running out of fuel!" she shouted down to him.

"Jump in here, then, it's way too cold to be abandoned here without some sort of heater!" Kai yelled. Hikari hadn't considered that- since her jet definitely would be unable to heat itself without any fuel, she'd be stuck here in the snow. And even the other cars who'd crashed either had some sort of heater or the inhabitants didn't need it.

"Okay," she said again, and ejected herself. For a moment, she felt weightless- and then she landed in Kai's lap with a rather startled, 'OOF!'

"Didn't expect you'd be jumping from that high," Kai joked, but he sounded a bit winded.

"O-oh, sorry," Hikari apologized.

Kai ruffled her hair a little bit. "No problem, kiddo- now hang on, we're going to start going really fast," and he shut the glass cover. Immediately, flakes of snow started clouding the windshield, and Hikari knew that they'd crossed into the Glacier Barrens.

The ground also got rockier and bumpier, but Hikari clung to Kai like her life depended on it. "Nothing can stop us now!" Kai said, determinedly.

He shouldn't have said anything- the next moment the engine cut out for a minute.

Hikari groaned aloud, "I think that like my jet, the Ultra-Sonic Raider ran out of fuel."

Zane nodded confirmation to this, "We're not going to make it to the finish line!"

Jay let out a little whimper, "I really hate to say it guys, but I think our goose is cooked!"

Jay's parents pulled level with them. "You guys look like you could use a hand!" Ed bellowed over the sound of the engine beeping to warn them about zero fuel and the snow flying past them. "We heard on the radio that you're racing to save Dareth's dojo!"

"Oh yes," Edna put in, "We're so proud of you son!"

Jay smiled a little, but his eyes were still worried. "Oh, thanks mom- but we're outta gas!"

Edna 'ohh'ed a bit. "Then take ours!"

Jay sputtered a moment, "But- how? If we stop then we'll lose the lead!"

Ed pulled out a long tube, presumably to transfer gas. "Oh, well we'll just have to do this the hard way, son!"

Hikari beamed at them. "Your parents are _so cool!_ " she yelled to Jay with a grin.

The two vehicles got closer together, and Ed crawled up to the gas area and hooked up the tube. Jay opened up the glass partition he was sitting in as Ed shouted, "Take this end, son!"

Jay hopped out to the end that could enter the fuel and flipped open the gas panel. "Keep it steady!" he shouted to the others.

Ed leaned in as much as he could. "Here you go, son," and Jay took it. "Ready, dad!" he yelled, after slamming it into the gas thing. Ed flipped a lever, and gasoline started funneling into the truck.

Suddenly, snakes dropped onto the Serpentine bus behind them, and Hikari bit her lip as Jay Spinjitzued some of the snakes out. Cole and Zane hopped out now, which left only Kai behind the wheel, and Hikari. Kai glanced at her. "Do you want to-"

"Kai, I'm way too young to drive!" Hikari scolded.

More Spinjitzu sent more snakes flying off the sides of the vehicle, Jay having to jump onto his dad's car to get them out.

Zane rotated his head around 180 degrees and made Hikari shudder a little. She bit her lip as one of the snakes opened up the glass. "Ninja-GO!" she punched him in the face. The Hypnobrai shuddered slightly, shaking his head, and she shot a blast of lightning in his face, knocking him off the thing. She then slammed the glass partition shut again.

Kai shook off some of the snow and ice crystals that had accumulated on his face. "Thanks Hikari!"

"Anytime!"

Zane kicked the Hypnobrai from before off the thing. The Hypnobrai fell onto the car seat next to Edna, who automatically veered into the ninja, knocking them sideways slightly and making snow flurry around them as the Ultra-Sonic Raider spun. Miraculously, no one fell off. Although the Serpentine and Darkley's vehicles crashed again.

The Ultra-Sonic Raider screeched to a stop, everyone coughing and waving the smoke off.

"Wait, stop!" Jay cried out, as Cole and Zane started getting back in. Jay ran to his parents, who stood next to their car. The back bumper was sticking straight up as smoke poured from the vehicles.

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" Jay said enthusiastically.

Ed nodded, "Oh, we're fine son, I wish I could say the same for the old jalopy."

"Yeah, shame she didn't get to the finish line," Edna said, removing her goggles. Jay looked at it before grabbing one sort of screw from the bumper and waving it at his parents. "I'll make sure a part of her does," he said, and ran back to the Ultra-Sonic Raider and stuck it to the front of the higher part of the Ultra-Sonic Raider (there wasn't time to run to the front bumper), before jumping back into the seat. "Let's go, we've got a dojo to save."

Hikari waved a little at Jay's parents before turning back to face the front. She was so small, and Kai was tall enough, that she could perch in Kai's lap without him having to strain to see over her, so that was good.

The Ultra-Sonic Raider and the Bounty started streaking towards the finish line, neck-and-neck.

"Looks like it's just us and Garmadon," Cole said to the others. Kai grinned slightly at them. "This time, let's make sure the good guys don't finish last."

The speed made them zip forward, so fast that they passed the Bounty.

Suddenly, a huge crack began zipping through the ground, and Hikari cringed. "Guys, look out!" she shouted.

Kai grimaced. "Can't you close that, Hikari?"

"Not if you don't want me to pass out for a week after doing it!" Hikari responded desperately, after calculating it.

The Ultra-Sonic Raider screeched to a stop, the back wheel very nearly skidding over the edge.

"Guys, it's impossible to cross that divide!" Zane bemoaned as Jay yelled, furiously, "OH that's totally cheating!"

They stopped there for a moment and turned back so they were a safe distance. Kai squinted at the divide, and then his expression lit up. "Wait a minute... this ain't over. Everybody, hang on!"

He gunned the engine, and the Ultra-Sonic Raider flew forward.

Jay's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Uh, you know we're heading straight for that cliff, right? Are you sure that's a good idea?!"

"I haven't had time to think it through! Uh, what was it that Sensei said? You gotta have trust!"

"Yeah, each other, not in miracles!" Cole almost screeched back.

Kai's amber eyes narrowed. "Nya, don't fail us now!" he shouted

And he yanked a lever down towards thim. The top part of the Ultra-Sonic Raider- the part Kai and Hikari sat in- separated from the wheels. The others were shocked, but they gathered their wits and Spinjitzued their way onto it, clinging onto the metal roof for dear life.

Kai gunned the controls as fast as possible, and they drew level with the Bounty moments before they crossed the finish line.

The Ultra-Sonic Raider slammed down onto the pavement, jolting Hikari forward and throwing her into small area where Kai's feet were. He yanked her upright. "Sorry, you okay kiddo?"

Hikari shook her head furiously and looked at him with wide eyes. "Did we win?!" she asked, hopefully.

The ninja (including Hikari) were swarmed by the crowd, lifted up as the crowd cheered for the ninja.

Lord Garmadon came off the Bounty. "I won! I won, I obviously crossed the finish line first!" he yelled, as the announcer bellowed, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!"

Everyone looked at the screen, which showed the Ultra Sonic Raider, with the screw attached to the front of that part being the first part to cross the finish line. "THE NINJA! THE NINJA ARE THE WINNERS!" the announcer screamed into the microphone, and the crowd broke into cheering, Dareth jumping for joy, as Jay removed the screw. "I knew it would bring us luck!" he cheered.

"No!" Lord Garmadon screamed, voice lost in the cheering of the crowd, "that's not fair! That wasn't even a part of their ship in the first place! It isn't even street legal! My ship-"

"YOUR ship?" Hikari's grin grew even wider; could this day get any better? She turned to see Lloyd standing on the Bounty with the Ultra Dragon. "I believe, this ship belongs to _us_!" Lloyd said, jumping down. The Ultra Dragon stayed in position as Lord Garmadon gritted his teeth in rage.

The Serpentine bus pulled up, Lord Garmadon charged on, and they zipped right off again.

"Y'know Sensei, I don't think that's the last we're gonna see of him," but Nya was interrupted by Hikari tackling Lloyd. Lloyd staggered but stayed upright, grinning. " _We won, we won!_ " she screamed, and Lloyd had a big dumb grin on his face while pink pumped throughout his cheeks. Hikari didn't notice and just hugged him, jumping for joy, dragging him along with her.

Truth be told, though, I don't think Lloyd minded at all.

Dareth was cheering near the trophy full of money. "We did it!" he crowed, "we saved the dojo! Oh, and look what I can do-" He jumped straight into the trophy, "CANNONBALL!"

Everyone laughed, Lloyd's arm tight around Hikari, the two of them having this big, happy grin written all over their faces.

 **A/N: OH man this chapter was such a pain to write! But hey, I finished it!**

 **Remember that thing Nya was working on while the ninja created the Ultra Sonic Raider via the Tornado of Creation? Yeah, that was Hikari's mini-jet (which'll show up very infrequently from now on). I hope you liked Hikari panicking while flying the mini-jet around.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **Michelle Rita: I'll try. Yeah, I decided to see how Brad and Hikari would get along. Hikari is the most adorable and oblivious cinnamon roll, though xD Oh, and yeah, she's pretty charming, though not on purpose (except for when she does her puppy-dog eyes.**

 **Shelly Marsh: Haha, yep- the Green Ninja was literally green, with envy!**

 **Quotev:**

 **MikuthePinkNinja: Thanks! Glad you like it. :)**

 **Lloydninjago: Hmm... nah xD That'd be an interesting battle, though.**

 **Sireen Belle: Hold out until I write Season 4, if you're still into this story by then you'll definitely love that section. ;)**

 **Painted Wings: The real question is what are THOOOOSSSSEEEE (yeah I don't get that meme :/)**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	18. Chapter 18

Lloyd sighed glumly as he leaned against the railing. Hikari noticed and followed his gaze to see kids kicking a ball around. She watched along with him for a few minutes, leaning against the railing and tilting her head as she watched. She didn't notice the fact that her hair blew behind her in the wind.

"Lloyd... Lloyd!" Lloyd and Hikari turned to see Kai scowling at them, "Concentrate!"

Lloyd shifted slightly, as Zane said, in a slightly more mild voice, "Now that the Bounty is in our possession again, we can train you more effectively. But you'll have to focus. Hikari has her turn, and then you can go for one last time."

"But we've been training all _day_ ," Lloyd protested.

Cole approached as well, "It's all to get you ready to face your father. Now, in position, Hikari!"

Lloyd sighed but attentively watched- he usually missed Hikari's training sessions, whether or not it was zoning out or him just not being there at the time.

Hikari got into position as the ninja flipped on their hoods. Hikari flicked hers on as well, and the only thing Lloyd could see of Hikari was her oddly serious eyes. Usually they sparkled with cheerfulness, but right now her face was dead serious.

The ninja jumped into their position, and Hikari simply crouched a little more, as Kai tried to kick her. Hikari simply dodged sideways and kicked with her right foot, knocking Kai sideways with ease. A huge deviation from the tiny girl who'd used to have trouble keeping up with Lloyd in the park.

Zane and Jay attacked simultaneously this time, and Hikari tensed. "Ninja-GO!" she spun into a sparkling purple tornado, and caught them in the purple windstorm before spitting them each aside. She landed, before glancing around quickly. Cole charged at her, and she blocked the attack, ducked under it, and swept her leg out, knocking Cole over.

"Hey, nice job, Hikari- you're really improving," Kai complimented, "One thing, though, I'd suggest keeping your elbows a little tucked in. Sometimes you lash out and you're a bit off balance and off target."

Hikari nodded seriously, taking her hood off. "I'll work on that," she said. Lloyd arched his eyebrow at her unusual serious behavior and got up to have his turn, but he didn't bother putting his hood on as Hikari waited.

Lloyd did pretty well, kicking Kai out of the air, Spinjitzuing Zane and Jay away, but Cole managed to catch him by surprise and knock him flat on his face. They all approached him, Hikari's small, black-haired head the first to reach him. "Lloyd! Are you okay?" She hoisted him up and dusted him off a little bit.

"That was fun!" Lloyd said with a smile, "Are we done?"

"Aw, c'mon, you're better than this!" Jay protested, taking his hood off to reveal his head of ginger hair, "what's on your mind?"

"Nothing," Lloyd said, still smiling, and Hikari poked him in the ribs. "Lloyd," she said, in a tone that said 'I know you're lying.'

His smile faded, and he looked down at his feet. "Well... the newest issue of Starfarer just came in at Doomsday Comix-"

Hikari smiled slightly at the memory of 'Mother Doomsday', who often would recommend or hold comics for her and Lloyd- especially Danganronpa, and Sherlock Bones. Those were her favorites.

"- and it's a limited edition, so if I don't go out and get it, it's gonna sell out. Last they left off," Lloyd said, green eyes starting to sparkle with excitement, "Fritz Donnegan was surrounded by the Imperial Sludge-"

"And if he doesn't find out what happens, he's gonna have his own doomsday," Hikari finished for him, her lip twitching in amusement.

"Exactly!" Lloyd said. "You know you want to find out what happens, too."

"I never said I didn't."

Kai coughed slightly, interrupting what Cole and Jay had taken to jokingly call their 'lover's quarrel' (not in earshot of either), "The fate of Ninjago rests on your shoulders. As the Green and Purple Ninja, you have a responsibility to hold. Sorry, but we don't have time for such childish things."

"But we _are_ children," Hikari pointed out innocently, "we're both eight."

"Yeah, other kids get to have fun!" Lloyd pointed out, more indignantly, "all WE ever do is train."

The door banged open and Nya shouted, "There's been a break-in at the Ninjago Museum of History! And the security camera's picked up You-Know-Who!"

"Garmadon!" Cole said angrily, and Jay agreed, "We have to stop him before he uses the Mega Weapon to start another one of his diabolical plans!"

"Um-" Lloyd said hopefully, and everyone turned to look at him. His smile faded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can't go and it's safer if I stay here and train. Same with Hikari."

All the ninja nodded confirmation, and Hikari giggled slightly and stood next to Lloyd. "Well... it could be worse," she said, cheerfully. "After all, it could be just you and not me. And you know how much you looove spending time with me," she teased.

Lloyd's scowl turned upside down. "Oh yeah? I think I like my Fritz Donnegan comic books better."

Hikari let out a gasp and fell over (literally. She fell over) onto the deck, dramatically saying, "Lloyd! How could you have betrayed me like this?"

Everyone laughed, even Lloyd, who was still a little sour about it.

Five minutes later, they were hovering near Ninjago City, and the Ultra-Sonic Raider sat on the ground waiting.

"We'll meet up with you at the Bounty as soon as we're done," Kai said, from where he was sitting in the Ultra-Sonic Raider.

"We'll be waiting," Nya agreed, "for your safe return."

They drove off, and Lloyd grumbled, "Too old for comic books and too young to go and fight. When are they going to make up their minds?"

"C'mon, pint size," Nya said, smiling at the two kids, "show me whatcha got."

"Okay," Hikari agreed readily, and the two of them wandered off towards the middle of the deck for more training again.

* * *

"Lloyd, don't be so obvious about reading this issue," Hikari said in a soft hiss the next morning, intently reading her old book but sneaking covert glances at Lloyd's comic.

"But it's so good," Lloyd whispered back.

"Oh, they should be back by now," Nya said, sounding worried.

Sensei Wu hummed thoughtfully, "I fear something horrible has happened to them."

Short silence, until Sensei Wu said right behind them, "Lloyd? Hikari?"

Both of them turned around, Lloyd concealing the comic with the old book he was supposed to be reading and facing his uncle.

"Both of you are in charge of the Bounty while Nya and I have a look around town."

Lloyd feigned interest in the old tome, scanning the pages. "Uh, yeah, sure," he said, until his uncle walked away.

Hikari huddled closer as Lloyd said, softly, "Okay, Fritz Donnegan, looks like it's you, Hikari, me, and the Imperial Sludge." He pulled Hikari a little closer absentmindedly so she wasn't craning her neck to read the comic book.

Hikari discarded the old book next to his, their eyes focusing on the comic. Lloyd snuck looks at Hikari when he was pretty sure she wasn't looking. Her gray eyes sparkled in the sunlight, and her hair looked shiny and clean. Her face was filled with a muted excitement, because no way would she actually admit it to Lloyd (although he pretty much already knew) but he'd actually gotten her pretty obsessed over that comic.

She did the same thing. Lloyd's green eyes were filled with excitement and intrigue as he reread the comic for the tenth time, and his ruffled blonde hair in the funny haircut stuck up at odds and angles because he'd slept on it funny and forgotten to brush it.

She smiled slightly as he turned the page and reverted her gaze back to Fritz Donnegan.

* * *

Lloyd and Hikari were playing the flying game, which Hikari had gotten MUCH better at in the two months since they'd last played it, when the phone rang. Hikari glanced at the phone, quickly paused the game and picked up the phone. "Hello?" she asked, pleasantly.

Jay's voice- which sounded oddly high-pitched for some reason- rang out through the room. "Hikari?! It's me, Jay! Let me talk to Sensei!"

"Jay?" Lloyd interrupted, looking over from where he was sitting, still holding the game controller. "Where are you? Why haven't you returned? Sensei's out looking for you."

Jay groaned. "Apparently you need 'parental permission' to take the bus and we can't seem to get out of the city!"

Hikari frowned. This comment seemed a bit odd. Weren't Jay, Cole, Kai, and Zane old enough to ride the bus without permission? "Uhhh... what?" she asked.

Another groan. "Ugh, never mind! It's a bit complicated, just meet us at Buddy's Pizza in ten minutes- and bring our weapons!" he added at the end.

Lloyd blinked. He didn't notice, but he was sliding sideways off the chair. "Weapons?- WAH!" he fell off the chair, as the phone hit the dial tone. Hikari looked at it oddly, before dropping it and rushing back over to Lloyd, reaching out to help him up. "Oh, Lloyd! You okay?"

* * *

The doors slid open as Hikari held the shurikens and the sword, while Lloyd toted the nunchucks and the scythe, which was rather awkward. Hikari offered to carry one end, but Lloyd insisted on doing it himself.

"Really? A pizza parlor?" asked a young voice, "of all the places we could meet, you picked THIS place?"

"What? I like their pizza," said another one, and Hikari glanced over- and then stopped dead in her tracks. "Uh... Lloyd?" she asked, in a very small voice.

"What? Hikari, what are you looking-" Lloyd doubled back a bit to where Hikari had frozen, completely rigid.

"Lloyd, look _closely_ at these kids' faces, and I mean _really_ look," she said, her voice a bit shaky as she stared at... at...

Lloyd did so. For a moment, as he looked at the children ninjas, his face was completely plain, and then they widened in rel. "Ah!" He dropped the scythe and the nunchucks, while Hikari blinked widely and almost in a horrified manner as Lloyd stepped back one. "What happened! You're- ah- uh- SMALL!"

Everyone turned to look at them, and Hikari quickly gathered up the weapons, dumped them on the table, and slid into the booth, gently nudging Kai aside, completely shocked by the fact that she was actually TALLER than him now. "Shh, Lloyd!" she whispered, still a little shocked, "C'mon, sit next to me."

Lloyd squeezed into the booth hastily making their side incredibly cramped (Jay literally got on the table and crossed over to where Cole and Zane were sitting since it was so tight), and stared at the ninja. It was almost like he was watching a rather fascinating television show and he couldn't take his eyes off of it.

"We're trying to lay low," Kai whispered as he picked up his sword, "your father's Mega-Weapon not only turned us into kids, but also released a creature whose sole purpose is to hunt down ninja!"

"Typical Garmadon," Cole grumbled, and his voice was so high-pitched Hikari couldn't help but giggle once.

Jay said, in his blue butterfly shirt (seriously, Hikari'd guessed from what Kai had said that they'd borrowed these clothes, but c'mon, Jay and Cole could've AT LEAST borrowed something from a boy), "And now, whenever we try to tell someone, they won't believe us, _because we're kids!_ "

Hikari and Lloyd giggled. Then they chuckled. Then they started to laugh, Hikari having to lean into him to stop herself from cackling. "What's so funny?!" Kai snapped.

"Well-" Hikari snorted, "it's just, well, I guess you know how it's like to be treated differently."

Lloyd smirked. "No kidding."

Zane frowned at the two smiling kids. "Look, this is serious! If we don't turn big so that we can use our Spinjitzu, we don't stand a chance against the Grundle!" he said, sounding frustrated- and very young.

Hikari and Lloyd exchanged a look. "Well... what about us? We know Spinjitzu."

"Yeah, but you don't know the Grundle. We ALL need to be at full strength. What we need is to find someone who might know more about how to defeat one of those things!" Kai hissed, but Lloyd wasn't paying attention anymore. He was staring at the back of a Starfarer comic, newest edition.

Hikari looked at it for a moment, before their eyes both lit up and they looked at each other. Hikari arched her eyebrow, and Lloyd nodded slightly.

"Lloyd, Hikari, focus!" Cole said. Hikari returned her gaze back to the ninja. "We are."

Lloyd smiled mischievously. "I think we know just the guy."

* * *

A few minutes later, they were walking into Doomsday Comix, the ninja all wearing their weapons.

Hikari smiled at the familiar sight of all the comics sitting nicely on the shelves.

Cole looked incredulous. "You brought us to a comic book store!?" he hissed.

"Trust us," Lloyd said, grinning, "if there's ANYONE who knows how to defeat a monster that doesn't exist, I know JUST the person to talk to."

"We're not getting your stupid comic, Lloyd!" Kai hissed, but Hikari waved that off. "We're not HERE to get it! I told you, we know a guy."

Lloyd got behind Kai, Cole, and Zane, and shoved them to the front desk. "Guys, meet Rufus McCallister, aka, Mother Doomsday!"

A large guy with his brown hair pulled into a ponytail and a beard smiled at Hikari and Lloyd. "Well, if it isn't Lloyd Donnegan Garmadon and Hikari Naegi Tsukino," Rufus said, referring to the two by their nicknames and making them grin proudly. "Sorry if you came looking for the latest Starfarer, I'm all sold out."

Hikari pouted slightly as Lloyd's mouth dropped open in dismay. "Oh... I was going to get one for Lloyd, since his birthday's tomorrow..."

Lloyd looked at Hikari so fast his neck cricked. He rubbed it, eyes wide open as he stared at Hikari. "You were?! It is?!"

"Yeah. Lloyd, you forgot your birthday?" Hikari asked him, curiously.

Lloyd chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, "Hehe, time flies when you're training, I guess."

Hikari managed a sad little smile, and apologized, "Sorry I couldn't get it for you."

"Nah, it's cool," Lloyd gently hugged her, making a sudden pink blush come over her face in shock as he did so. "At least you tried, right?"

He let go, his own face a little pink, before he turned back to Mr. McCallister. "A-Actually, Mother Doomsday, we need help."

Mother Doomsday arched an eyebrow and leaned forward. "Well color me intrigued," he said.

"We have a problem," Lloyd said firmly, coming forward to the front desk. Hikari approached as well, and spoke up next, "There's a Grundle on the loose, and we need to know how to deal with it."

"Ahh, a theoretical question," Rufus McCallister said wisely. Lloyd nodded slightly, although slowly. "Yeahh... theoretical! Can you help?"

Mother Doomsday lowered himself from the purple chair and went out from behind the desk. "Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalicus," he said, walking out from behind the desk, which really only came up to his head, "Whew, although extinct, there have been a relatively large number of movies, television shows, and comics exploring the mythology behind the primordial predator. Supposedly, they ALWAYS get their prey."

"Sounds like he knows his stuff," Kai said, impressed, but Lloyd pushed over to him, grabbing Hikari's hand along the way. "Can it be stopped?" he asked.

"First thing you need to know, is it's thick shell-like hide is invincible to swords, scythes, nunchucks, and throwing stars, so your cheap imitations will do nothing to slow it down."

Cole's mouth practically slammed into the floor. His brown eyes, already large to the extent where they were starting to rival Hikari's grew even bigger in dismay. "Swell," he said, sardonically.

"Second," Mother Doomsday said briskly, "it's nocturnal. It only hunts at night."

"Oh, good!" Jay burst out, "it's still daylight, so we can relax for a bit...!"

Mother Doomsday raised his eyebrow, and Jay amended the statement, "Uh, theoretically, I meant."

"And," Rufus continued, "the only way to defeat it is with light. Like a vampire, with enough of it, it could potentially destroy him." He opened up a cabinet with four purply glowing swords, the Illuma-Swords he'd had on display for, like, weeks. "If I had my weapons of choice, may I recommend the Illuma-Sword. These are authentic replicas that would come in handy. Were you to live long enough to actually face the Grundle."

He turned to them. "And if _swords_ are your thing, maybe I can interest you in an authentic ninja gi, signed by the very ninja that saved the city."

There was a brief silence. Kai looked at Rufus and started for the cabinet. "Ahhh we'll just take the light swords..."

"Whoa, there, not so fast- this Starfarer combo pack can only be won in the Fritz Donnegan trivia battle royale." He gestrured his head where the trivia contest was about to start.

Hikari and Lloyd exchanged a glance, "In that case, could we please join, Mother Doomsday?"

* * *

Dusk was falling. Hikari bit her lip. This kid wearing a cowboy outfit was amazing, and had already matched her and Lloyd in all the questions. They'd far outshined the others, although Hikari had missed one question a round ago and was now out, where she joined the ninja.

"It's down to the final two," Mr. McCallister said enthusiastically, "this question is for Lloyd."

The entire crowd cheered as Rufus said to Lloyd, "What is Fritz Donnegan's famous catchphrase?"

Lloyd smiled slightly. "'Fear? Fear isn't a word from where _I_ come from'," he quoted, and Mother Doomsday confirmed it to be correct. "We're all tied up," he announced, making a loud 'YAY' come from the crowd of children. The cowboy and Lloyd exchanged a look as Mother Doomsday turned back to the two of them.

Zane whispered, panicked, "It's getting dark. The Grundle will be on the prowl soon!"

"Don't worry," Kai whispered back, "I got faith Lloyd can win those Illuma-Swords." A moment's pause, and they all turned to Jay. "Is this really the best time to be eating cotton candy?!"

"It makes me feel young," Jay said casually, "deal with it!"

"Final question!" Mother Doomsday announced, "the first person to answer this, will win. In the latest issue of Starfarer, how did Fritz Donnegan escape the Imperial Sludge?"

Hikari practically banged her head on the wall. The _one question_ neither her nor Lloyd could answer, and it came up at the last moment.

Lloyd looked incredibly worried. "But I haven't READ the latest issue of Starfarer!"

"By reversing the polarity of the ship's gravity transducer," the cowboy said proudly. "WE HAVE A WINNER!" Rufus cheered, and Hikari let out a groan as everyone stared. Some of the ninja facepalmed.

And then all the lights flickered out, and Hikari went perfectly still. "Oh no..."

The Doomsday Comix sign fell in front of the door as a huge, screeching roar rose up. Lloyd went stiff. " _It's here..._ "

"What's here?" Mother Doomsday asked, worriedly.

Hikari smiled nervously. "Um... that theoretical discussion we had earlier? That theory is about to apply itself to the real world..."

A huge, reptilian head, with red scaly skin and glowing blue eyes looked down, and everyone screamed as Rufus McCallister let out a yell.

"We can't get out of here," Hikari said, desperately, "the doors are blocked..." and she ran over and yanked on the handle anyway, " _and_ it's jammed!"

Another huge crack, and they all turned to see one of the Grundle's scaly feet smash through the glass, before the _entire ceiling_ fell in, scattering glass pieces everywhere as everyone. The Grundle turned to see the group of people huddled there, its tail smashing through the glass case of the ninja outfits.

Hikari bit her lip as Jay yelped, "Quick, this way!" They fled behind a shelf over to the Illuma-swords and the ninja gi. Soon, all four of the kid ninja were standing there with the Illuma-Swords and wearing their (far too large) ninja gi. Lloyd and Hikari jumped behind the main desk, since Kai had insisted- 'You guys are too important, stay back!'- and of course they didn't want to break their promise.

The ninja pointed their swords at the Grundle, who cringed back. Jay lunged at the Grundle, but upon impact the sword dented and the light flickered out. Kai tried to hit it, but his own sword dented. Zane tried as well, but his sword flickered out. The only one left was Cole's. "Stupid toy!"

"Uh-oh," Zane stated, before they were swept sideways to the main desk.

Hikari jumped on top, glaring at the Grundle as the teeth came within an inch of Kai. "You like darkness so much?! Let's see how you like THIS!" An inky cloud of shadows burst from her hand and flashed into a hazy fog that blocked the Grundle's vision. It shook its head in confusion.

"It can't see!" Zane realized as it shied away, clawing at its eyes. Hikari's mind was clouding... she grabbed Lloyd's hand... she snapped back. She could practically hear Nariko's snarl of anger...

Lloyd squeezed her hand before letting go, and extending his hands. "Hope you don't mind if I brighten things up a bit!" and he made a sphere of that glowing green light in his hands, dispelling the dark clouds Hikari had thrown up and making the Grundle cringe back in pain. The Grundle turned away and smashed the table over with the tail, knocking both Hikari and Lloyd to the floor.

Nya kicked the door open suddenly, and shouted to everyone who was NOT a ninja (except Rufus, who was pretty much paralyzed in fear) "EVERYONE OUT!" They immediately obeyed, and Sensei Wu bellowed, "USE THIS!"

A small vial of purple tea soared over and landed in Jay's hand. "WHAT IS IT?!" he screeched back.

"It is Tomorrow's Tea! It will turn forward the hands of time, turning you older and reducing the Grundle back to dust and bones!"

The ninja had to jump back a little onto the fallen desk as the Grundle approached again, as Sensei Wu continued, "But be careful- there's NO turning back!"

"Grundle, prepare to be extinct!" shouted Jay, but Cole blocked the Grundle away with his still-glowing Illuma-Sword. "But wait, what will happen to Lloyd and Hikari?! They'll grow old too!" They looked back at the two, who were grimacing in pain on the floor. "Just _do_ it!" Lloyd yelled, sounding annoyed.

"You'll miss out on the rest of your childhood!" Jay panicked, and Kai agreed, "We can't do that to you, i-it's not fair!"

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the Grundle roared with impatience and knocked the Illuma-Sword out of Cole's hands, before snapping at them. The ninja jumped back, landing on the floor and the small vial of tea landing in Lloyd's lap.

Lloyd looked up at the Grundle, then at Hikari. The two of them stared at each other, before their faces turned to resolve, and they looked back at the Grundle. "Fair?" Lloyd asked, softly.

Hikari finished the statement. "Fair isn't a word where we come from."

Lloyd jumped up and threw it, one hand grabbing Hikari's automatically. It smashed against the Grundle, and Sensei Wu shouted, "He used it!"

The Grundle whirled around, crashing to the ground, bones once more. The ninja all stood up, back to their real ages, as they flipped off their hoods to stare at the dust and the bones on the floor.

"It worked!" Nya exclaimed, as Rufus said, numbly, "They _are_ the real ninja..."

"But what about Lloyd and Hikari?"

From behind the desk, a groan. Lloyd stood up, but a huge change had come through him. He was taller, his hair longer and more wavy and full, and his eyes and face were older and more chiseled. He stared at his hands. "I'm... older," he mumbled, shocked, his voice deeper as well. He looked just like the others- a normal, 17-year old boy.

Suddenly his eyes widened. "Hikari! Where's-!"

His voice stopped as a tall young woman with long black hair stood up, a little behind him, touching her head. She turned, and Lloyd's mouth dropped open.

Hikari's face was more feminine and mature than before, her long hair even longer and darker, her gray eyes gleaming in the darkness, still as large and soft as ever. One long bang hung in front of her face, clumped together slightly, and she was taller, to the point where she was almost eye-level with Lloyd. If Lloyd was 17, so was she.

She looked up, and stilled. "... Lloyd?" she asked, softly, her voice still holding the remnant of Hikari's sweet, happy voice, but sounding older and more mature. "Is... that you?"

Lloyd stepped closer automatically. "Yeah.. you look- you look good," he said, softly.

The corner of her mouth twitched up. "You... you don't look so bad yourself," she said, examining him, oblivious to the stunned looks on the others' faces, before turning. Sensei Wu said, gravely, "The time for the Green and Purple Ninja to face their destiny has grown nearer."

Hikari and Lloyd looked at each other, and then their friends. "... we're ready."

As they left, Mother Doomsday caught up to them. "Wait, Lloyd, Hikari... you can have _my_ copy of Starfarer. You two deserve it."

"That's okay," Lloyd said, smiling slightly, and Hikari picked up, "we already know how it ends."

She intertwined her finger with his automatically, a warm smile coming on their face as they nodded goodbye, before they followed the others into the night.

 **A/N: OMG, the ninja and Hikari are older! Hikari's new face claim? Female Kirito!**

 **Fun fact: I originally considered Asada Shino (Sinon's real name) as the older Hikari face claim, but then I decided that it was a bit too abrupt a change.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: Yep!**

 **Quotev:**

 **lloydninjago: Yoda's probably just like 'leave me out of this' in the background right now xD**

 **LovelyLife: They were so shocked at being older they didn't even remember to blush this time xD**

 **Byee!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	19. Chapter 19

"Your bodies are fighting instruments," Sensei Wu instructed, as Hikari glanced at the photo they'd taken a few weeks ago spontaneously on the wall and then returned her attention to the other ninja, as she and Lloyd stood back-to-back with their eyes shut.

She heard Cole raising his scythe, and her eyes flashed open as Lloyd ducked forward and kicked it away with his back leg, Hikari rolling sideways and then catching Jay as Lloyd flung him sideways with his nunchucks. Catching Jay, her foot kicked him forward, knocking him to the floor. Both of them flipped over the shurikens that Zane threw, Hikari over Lloyd, using her light, thin frame to her advantage.

The sound of a sword being drawn made both of them look, as Kai thrusted. Lloyd caught the sword with his hands, and Hikari kicked it up and out of his grip, just as Kai jerked it back, yanking Lloyd so that he fell on the floor and making Hikari stagger off balance before catching it. The kick made Kai trip a little as well, so it wasn't a total loss.

Kai chuckled slightly as Lloyd panted from where he was lying on the floor. "You're getting pretty good, kid," he said to Lloyd, "but that move you fell for was basic 101."

Lloyd nodded, brushing his hair out of the way. "Yeah, if I had focused more when I was little, I would've seen that coming," he admitted, and Hikari grinned as she put her arm around him. "Well you still kicked butt."

Lloyd grinned back at her, and Hikari's own grin faded as she let go, a faint pink blush decorating her cheeks. Ever since she'd been older, even doing a chummy move like THAT made butterflies explode into a flurry in the pit of her stomach and her face pump blood more rapidly through it. Her heart also seemed to start working overtime.

One bad thing about getting older, besides the odd feelings, was that Nariko had also developed in strength, and using even her powers over death too much would result in Nariko whispering and insisting that she take over, let Hikari stop. Hikari always shook it off, but it was getting harder and harder to do so.

"We cannot change the past," Sensei Wu interrupted her thoughts, "but we can improve for the future. Again- and this time, do not hold back."

* * *

"The falcon has returned with troubling news," Zane said, quickly sliding a chip into the reader, "what did you see, my mechanical feathered friend?"

The falcon's vision appeared on the screen, showing- "The Lost City of Ouroboros," Nya breathed in wonder. "Lord Garmadon's returned to the Serpentine home base!" Kai commented, "but why!?"

"Looks like they're preparing for a final battle!" Cole exclaimed, eyes widening, and Sensei Wu turned to Nya, who looked at him seriously with her amber eyes. "Nya, set the course. We'll head straight for them."

The Bounty did a u-turn in midair and headed back towards Ouroboros, everyone preparing their weapons and getting ready.

Once they reached Ouroboros, it had become nighttime. The ninja shimmied down a chain as quietly as they could and jumped into position.

"Ninja-GO!" Sensei Wu shouted, and spun into sight.

Lord Garmadon glared at his brother malevolently. "Brother!" he snarled.

"It's time," Sensei Wu said, sternly, "we finished this."

And all the ninja jumped behind, except for Lloyd and Hikari. "Bring it on, fools!" Lord Garmadon sneered, opening all four of his arms.

Lloyd rolled in and shot a blast of ice, freezing the Mega Weapon, Hikari following. Her hair was wrapped up under her mask, fists clenched as she glared at Lord Garmadon.

He let out an exclamation as he looked at the frozen Mega Weapon, but then seemed to freeze when he saw his taller son. "... Lloyd? Is... that you?" he asked.

Lloyd nodded as he straightened up, Hikari still slightly poised to fight, just in case. "Yeah- I've grown a little since the last time I saw you, Dad."

Lord Garmadon let out a sound that sounded like a mix of a pained wheeze and a panicked cry. "Stop him!" he sputtered to the Serpentine standing there, before turning and running away. Hikari stamped her foot and send columns of earth at them, capturing them in columns of solid stone that were cracked, dry... dead, almost.

She charged after Garmadon, slamming open the door he'd charged through to reveal a swirling portal. Cole groaned, "He used the Mega Weapon again!"

Jay drooped slightly, the most annoyed expression on his face. "Oh, swell! Every time he uses that thing, something really BAD happens!" he snapped, throwing his hands up (and his nunchucks, forcing Hikari to duck as they almost hit her in the face) in frustration, "Now what?!"

"What's happening!?" Kai exclaimed, as the building began to rumble. "What's going on?!"

"Is the city... sinking?" Jay asked, as sand began to pool at their feet. "Worse- the city is returning back into the desert," Zane said, looking around as more and more sand began to pour in, "as if it had never been found in the first place!"

"What?!" Kai yelled, shock in his amber eyes, "but what does that mean?!"

"What's happening?!" Nya cried out, as sand began to rise up to their waist.

Zane turned back to look at them. "Lord Garmadon must be turning back time so that Lloyd never turns into the Green Ninja, and Hikari into the Purple Ninja!"

Hikari and Lloyd looked down. "I can't..." Lloyd said, faintly, "I can't feel my hands..."

"N...neither can I," Hikari said, reaching out and taking Lloyd's. It might've been her imagination, but her hand- THEIR hands- were turning transparent.

"We have to go in!" Kai said, struggling through the sand towards the portal.

"If he changes anything- he changes EVERYTHING!" Sensei Wu shouted, "protect the future, ninja!"

All four of them struggled out, and leapt through the portal. Hikari's hand clenched on Lloyd's, her face pale with worry. _Even if something goes wrong,_ Hikari thought desperately, _at least I'll still have Lloyd. At least we'll still have each other._

Even though secretly, she worried that maybe the two of them wouldn't even have THAT if things went wrong.

* * *

The ninja splashed down in a large rice paddy, and Jay groaned as he stood up. "Remember to remind me to pack a helmet next time we time travel," he joked.

"Where are we?" Cole asked, and Zane corrected, "You mean, WHEN are we."

Kai looked around, and his eyes widened. "Four Weapons... huh! My parent's shop! Nya and I used to work there! ... hey, wait a minute, this is the day Garmadon ordered the skeletons to take my sister! We need to warn them-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Cole said, waving his hands at Kai, "you _heard_ what Sensei said, we change _anything,_ we change _everything_."

"Yeahh, I was confused by that too," Jay said, and Zane said calmly, "What he means is, our world is the result of past events that have already happened. If for whatever reason events fail to happen, then our future could radically change."

"Uh, so what YOU'RE saying is that we have to stop Garmadon from changing anything?!" Jay exclaimed, "but of all the times, why did we land here?!"

"'Cause this is where it all started," Kai responded, somewhat dazedly. "Today I met Sensei Wu for the first time and I began my training as a ninja! Somehow, Garmadon is gonna try to prevent that! ... but how?"

A short silence before Cole sighed. "Ugh, if only Sensei were here to guide us..."

Suddenly, a figure wearing white started up the path. "Hey, look!" Jay gasped, "there he IS! Maybe he CAN!"

"We have to tell him what the old Garmadon's done!" Cole agreed, but Zane said, quickly, "but we must prevent the past Kai and Nya see that we talked to him, or else it WILL affect the future."

Kai was thinking, and then he said, "I know exactly what to do!"

* * *

Hikari walked up the rustic path. She knew that Lloyd said to head to Jamanakai Village while he went and gathered some supplies ("it's too dangerous there," he told her, "and if you get hurt it's gonna be even slower getting to Jamanakai"), but perhaps she should've asked WHERE it was first.

Suddenly, she heard a slight yelp, and she looked up to see a flash of white disappearing around the corner. She stared at it, but there was no more movement- perhaps she'd just seen a rabbit?

She looked up at the shop's sign, and her eyes lit up- of course! She could ask for directions here!

She walked in now, hopefully, hoping that someone was inside right now.

* * *

"Hey- guys! That's Hikari!" Jay whispered.

Kai leaned around the corner to see the familiar, small girl entering the store. He frowned. He didn't remember Hikari ever walking inside the shop...

But then he remembered that when he'd first met Sensei, he'd seen a small girl walking BY the shop... so that's why he'd thought Hikari seemed familiar.

"Oh god... not only did we change the future by dragging Sensei into this, I think we caught Hikari's attention when we got him off to the side! Hikari met me a lot earlier than she was supposed to!" Kai groaned.

"I believe... yet another 'uh oh' is in order," Zane groaned, slapping his hand to his forehead in frustration.

* * *

Hikari walked into the shop to see a boy with spiky brown hair and a scar running through his left eye, and a girl with black hair and the same amber eyes as him. So, that meant... those two were siblings?

"Do you need something?" the boy asked, sounding disgruntled about something.

"Yeah," Hikari nodded, her silvery-gray eyes crinkling up happily, "Do you know the way to Jamanakai Village?"

The boy blinked, before nodding. "Um... yeah. Continue on the road that direction-" he pointed, "for as long as you can, into the forest, until you come to a fork in the road. Once you reach the fork, turn left, and keep going along there- Jamanakai Village should show up then."

Hikari beamed, thank god she had directions now!

"Thank you!" she said cheerfully, before looking around the shop. "Do you make weapons here?"

"Yeah," the boy said, still sounding a little grouchy. Hikari touched some of the armor, "well it's really good quality!"

"Thanks, but my dad made it," he responded, frowning. Hikari paused, "Oh. Well, it's still great. Let him know, okay?"

If possible, the boy's expression got even darker. Hikari's bright smile faded off her face then. "Oh... did I say something wrong?"

"Our dad left a while back," the girl said, abruptly but kindly, "he said he was going to come back in an hour. He never did." She said this, as if this made what she was saying less unpleasant. Which of course, it didn't...

Hikari's eyes grew bigger and sadder. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear that..."

"Nah, it's fine- thanks, kid," the boy said, his expression lightening, and clapped her on the back. She almost fell, but as it was she still stumbled forward a few steps.

Suddenly, Hikari heard a sound, and she turned to see dark clouds creeping out from the horizon. She squinted at them. "Huh...? Is it just me, or...?"

"No... no, it's not just you, kid," he said, gently, but with a confused look, as a huge vehicle suddenly blazed over the surface of the horizon. His expression became more determined, and he put on the armor and grabbed a sword. The girl shuddered. "What ARE those things?"

"I don't know. Stay back," the boy said, adjusting a helmet on his head, before continuing forward.

Hikari bit her lip and backed away a little bit, as the boy kept fighting. Then she heard a voice. "Should we help them or what?"

It sounded like the boy who was fighting, but he obviously wasn't talking- his teeth were gritted in determination as he blocked and parried with his sword. Hikari frowned a bit and started forward, looking around.

The boy was being surrounded in skeletons, but the girl grabbed a wooden staff and smacked two of them out of the way with a smirk. The boy glared at his sister. "I thought I told you to stay back!" he exclaimed, and the girl moved so that she was back-to-back with her brother. "And what? Let you have all the fun?"

The boy turned to face a huge skeleton, with four daggers. The skeleton snickered, and revealed all of them at once. Hikari's eyes widened, and she charged forward. "Leave him alone!"

She didn't know how to fight, but she shoved the skeleton as hard as she could, making him stumble a bit. He turned to see her, his bony face leering down at her.

"Oops," Hikari said weakly, as they got closer. She got up rapidly and scooted herself away from him, as he struck down with the dagger in his top left hand.

"Hey, bonehead!" the boy shouted at the skeleton, making it turn back to him, and fight with all four of the daggers, knocking the blade from the boy's hand and kicking him over, starting to whirl the blades like spinning helicopter... er... blades.

"NINJA-GO!" yelled a voice (who sounded suspiciously like the source of the yelp) and spun straight into the skeleton with a golden tornado, knocking him over and around the yard while Hikari breathed a sigh of relief. They also knocked the sign free.

"Sensei Wu!" the skeleton rasped, "your Spinjitzu looks rusty!"

"I thought it looked good to me," Hikari volunteered, raising her hand.

"Nothing like bone to sharpen its edge," the old man with long white hair said sternly, "Samukai!"

Samukai snickered, and then threw all four of his blades. Hikari let out a cry of fear as she flung herself to the ground, making her shoulder twinge with pain as the blades nearly missed her head, splitting one of her hairs.

"They all thudded into one of the legs of the water tower that stood there, making the structure buckle and then fall, plummeting straight towards the boy.

Hikari screamed, knowing she was too far away to do anything. She looked around frantically, as Sensei Wu's golden tornado tore towards the boy, and knocked him away from the falling watertower. She ran over, the boy stepping a little off to the side, just in front of the roof, to shake his fist at the skeletons.

A huge bony hand flew errantly, barely missing the girl, who let out a gasp of surprise.

Hikari ran over to the old man, and stopped. There, next to him, stood a boy with the same hair, but harder amber eyes and a more mature face. "Wha-?"

The boy looked down, grabbed her, and dragged her away a bit, as she protested. "H-hey, no!" she said, slightly panicked, "what are you do-?!"

"Shhh," the boy whispered, his amber eyes slicing into her quickly. "Just- don't mention you saw me, okay? Just, continue on to get wherever you need to go, okay?"

Hikari paused. "Um.. okay, sure, but why-?"

"Just, go over and say hi to them, okay? I need to talk to Sensei Wu," the boy said, jerking his head in their direction. Hikari blinked. "O... okay. Hey, what's your name?"

The boy hesitated, before the tiniest smile came over his face. "That's a secret. But those two, his name's Kai, and that's his sister, Nya, okay?"

"Okie!" Hikari said, nodding and smiling, even though internally she was incredibly confused.

* * *

Back in the real time, Sensei Wu looked at the dark clouds beginning to roll over Ninjago, as the picture that'd been hanging on the wall during training changed, Lloyd and Hikari fading out of it, even though their arms were around one another. They faded out of it together, so that there was an empty space between Jay and Zane, whose arms were around them.

It was as if they'd never existed.

Sensei Wu chanced a glance at Hikari and Lloyd, lying on the bed together, their hands tightly intertwined. Hikari's body was a bit more solid than Lloyd's, who was almost transparent. Hikari's body was more translucent than anything, but you could easily see the bed through her body.

Her brow contracted slightly as her teeth gritted slightly in her sleep. "L... Lloyd.."

* * *

Hikari followed the boy's advice, walking away after greeting the two siblings and hugging them, telling them thank you and good luck, before turning around and heading in the direction Kai had pointed earlier.

As she did so, she passed a boy wearing a blue ninja outfit with ginger hair and electric blue eyes as he stared at the guy who looked creepily like Kai, a boy with white-blonde hair and white eyes wearing a white ninja outfit, and a boy with black hair and dark brown eyes in a black ninja outfit.

She waved cheerfully at them. "Hello!"

They all jumped a little as she passed, before sheepishly waving back at her, with a rather forced smile on their faces. "H-hey," the blue one said.

Hikari ignored how jumpy they seemed, waving again with a bright smile before leaving, hopping down the steps slowly.

"Same old Hikari," Cole commented with a small smile under his breath as he watched the little girl leaving. Kai grimaced and crossed his arms. "Yeah... this isn't good, though."

"Why?" Sensei Wu questioned, "we saved you, and your sister!"

"Nooo," Kai groaned, "the skeletons were _supposed_ to get away with Nya- the only reason you convinced me to become a ninja in the first place was to get her back!"

Sensei Wu's eyes widened a little. "Oh... I see."

"Sensei," Zane said, seriously, "no matter what, you need to convince Kai to come with you!"

Jay blinked. Seriously, they knew he was a little slow sometimes if the situation was way too complicated, but this was ridiculous! "Why?" he asked, simply.

"BECAUSE," Zane said, sounding a little worried, "if Kai doesn't become a ninja, the world as we know it won't exist! We'll never unite, we'll never train Lloyd to become the Green Ninja, and Nya will never fall in love with you!"

"WHAT?! NO MATTER WHAT," Jay said, panicking and shaking Sensei Wu, "YOU HAVE TO GET KAI TO GO WITH YOU!" He then gasped, realizing that past Kai was approaching, and they all ducked behind the watertower.

"Thank you for your help," Kai gushed, "if it wasn't for your- your Twistitzu or your Tornadzu-"

All of the ninja glared at Kai. Kai gave them a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head.

* * *

Kai casually shoved a punching bag. That little girl who'd stopped by the blacksmith shop... she'd been so cheerful and happy, snapping him out of the black mood he'd been in since Father had left. Oh sure, he might pretend to be cheerful so that Nya didn't worry, but seriously... no. He was easily upset, moody, and his already fiery temper flared up far too easily now.

But she.. she'd mentioned his father, and seemed sincerely sorry when Nya explained for bringing it up. She reminded him of a flower that popped out of the earth in the middle of winter without any warning, without dying.

He turned back to the punching bag and punched it half-heartedly as the old man said, "You must harness the fire within you-"

He was cut off as the punching bag swung back and smacked Kai in the face. " _Ow!_ " Kai sounded annoyed, "Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

Sensei Wu followed him, whacking him on the head with his stick. Seriously, he was starting to consider grabbing that stick and smashing it in half by now. He leaned against a column with other sticks on it lazily. "I know, I know, harness the fire inside, blah, blah, blah..." he groaned lazily.

Sensei Wu smacked him on the head again, and he grumbled and got on the column to stop getting hit. Sensei started hitting his feet with the staff, and he was forced to dodge over and over as the staff kept trying to smack him. "Hey, quit it!" he yelped, completely unaware that anyone was watching him- and discussing him.

* * *

Kai waited patiently, the ninja all probably wearing the skeleton masks and getting ready to grab Nya by now. He walked into the very small space between the walls, wearing a pair of spare pajamas he'd borrowed from himself and removed the mirror when he heard himself spitting into the sink. His face was the barest bit different, so with luck, Kai wouldn't notice any change.

He meant past Kai. Oh.. you readers know what I mean!

He imitated his expressions flawlessly, a lazy look, then a shocked one, and moving his hair out of the way. He winked to himself (this was honestly like seeing the 'Bizarro' version of himself, as Hikari had once put it) and then leaned in so close that he was a little scared they'd collide.

Past Kai reached up to touch the mirror, and then Future Kai said, "Hey dummy!"

Past Kai let out a yell and jumped back, making Kai force himself not to grin like a doofus. As it was he was still smirking. "Yeah, I'm talking to you!"

"Me?" Past Kai said, touching his chest in confusion.

"Would you get your head on straight and start listening to Sensei?" Kai asked, putting his hand on his hips and glaring at himself slightly. "The fate of the world kinda rests on it!"

"Huh?" Past Kai managed.

There was a vague scream from above. "Kai! Help!"

Kai cringed and resisted facepalming, this meant that Nya still wasn't out of here. Well... crap.

"NYA!" Past Kai yelled, and Future Kai snapped at himself, "I'm not done talking to you. You can't leave!"

Past Kai whirled back at the door, glaring at him. "Why not?!" he demanded, now back in front of the mirror, "You're just my reflection!"

Future Kai sighed internally, glared at Past Kai, and then punched himself into the opposite wall, making Past Kai cry out in pain as he was knocked out. "Sorry, but I can't have you spoiling our plans," he said to himself, before rushing outside back in his ninja gi, throwing on a skeleton mask, and catching his sister in the sack as she rolled off the roof. Slinging her onto his shoulder, he ran up onto the roof. "Guys, let's get out of here!"

His friends looked at him and then spinjitzued themselves away from their past selves. Kai resisted cringing, this would surely result in a bit of a time anomaly, but they'd already caused so many it didn't seem worth counting the problem.

As they ran, they heard Sensei Wu say, seriously, "They took Nya!"

Past Kai gasped. "What?! They took Nya?! NO!"

* * *

Lloyd and Hikari faded back into view, looking barely translucent on the beds now, and the picture faded back into view, Lloyd and Hikari beaming at the camera like usual. Sensei Wu heaved a silent sigh of relief at the sight of it. Lloyd's hand tightened as he took Hikari's hand. "Agh..." he groaned.

Hikari's teeth gritted a little in her sleep, and a shadow fell over her eyes. "Ngh... L... Lloyd..."

Their hands tightened on the other's hand, as if they were the only thing keeping themselves anchored to the timeline. Hikari turned slightly and nestled into Lloyd's grip, the two of them struggling to hang on.

Of course, the ninja scrambling around in the past was also a bit of help, but that wasn't the important thing right now- what was really important was that both of them got out of this still existing.

The next minute, Sensei Wu let out a cry of alarm. "Great scott!" The dark storm clouds were rolling back in, and Lloyd and Hikari started to fade out of existence again, both in the picture and on the beds.

* * *

Hikari groaned as she walked through the forest. The path was winding and boring, and at this rate she'd miss the crossroad- although, maybe she already had. She wasn't entirely sure she hadn't passed it by accident by now.

"Nya! Wait up!"

Hikari looked up and to her left. Kai was now wearing a red ninja outfit, and chasing after his sister. Curiously, she chased after them.

"Wait, that wasn't supposed to happen," Kai said, frowning. "Hikari's never... I don't think she showed up originally."

"Perhaps she's been delayed somehow, and that is why she is just now here," Zane reasoned, and the ninja all followed the trio as they ran into the forest.

Hikari let out a soft gasp as they reached a temple that sat a little in front of a volcano, and ran into the temple after Kai. She went and climbed onto a higher rock to catch a better glimpse of the whole scene, although she did miss a whole deal of it while focusing on the climbing. At one point, she nearly plummeted straight into the lava, and only an errant rock saved her.

She managed to climb back onto the rock and turn around.

Nya screamed as she started descending towards the lava, and Kai yelled, "NYA!"

"Tick tock," said a deep, slightly annoying voice. Kai looked around desperately, before charging, flipping, and grabbing the golden blade that was stabbed into the rock, spinning into a fiery tornado, and slicing Nya's bonds and catching her on the stone ledge.

An evil laugh, and Hikari scrambled to watch as they began to walk. "Stay close," Kai said to his sister. "Trust me, I'm not going anywhere," Nya said shakily.

"You can't hurt us!" Kai yelled up to the shadow, raising the Golden Sword, "You're only a shadow!"

"This time, I'm actually MUCH more," the shadow with the red glowing eyes sneered.

And then a man with skin blacker than squid ink, glowing red eyes, and a golden staff thing came out from behind a rock structure. Kai jerked back in shock. "Garmadon?! You're supposed to be trapped in the Underworld!"

"Oh, there's so much more you _don't_ know!" Garmadon sneered, and then charged at Kai.

Kai charged as well, and the two weapons collided. Hikari gasped, but she didn't care call or cry out- otherwise Kai might get distracted, and then... well, Hikari didn't want to think about it!"

Kai had to dodge back as Garmadon forced him back, and furiously attacked, laughing evilly, before knocking the golden sword out of Kai's hands. Hikari followed the sword's path, crying out- the cry was cut short as the guy with the red ninja suit stood there, looking at the sword.

He took it and jumped in front of Kai and Nya, and prepared his sword.

"Two Kais?!" exclaimed the shadow on the wall.

"Yeah!" Kai said with a grin, getting over his shock, and running behind the man with the more elaborate outfit. "I guess I have four arms too!"

Garmadon charged, but the other Kai... the one with the brighter red outfit... ducked the attack, and the Kai Hikari knew leapt over him. He glanced at himself, they nodded, and Kai grabbed the other Kai's hand and helped him jump onto the wall, run, and smack the Mega Weapon away, it sailing into the air, towards Hikari!

Hikari gasped and automatically caught it, grabbing it. The force of the throw was enough to force her back, almost to the edge of the rock, and she stumbled forward, her heart in her throat.

The white ninja and the black one were talking, rapidly, about... something. As Hikari regained her balance, the blue one came and threw a gold scythe, two gold throwing stars, and kept the gold nunchucks as he went and joined them. Kai yanked out the gold sword, and looked around.

"Where did it land?" And then everyone's eyes landed on her. "Hikari! You have to give us the Mega-Weapon! It's a matter of life and death!" the black ninja shouted, his hand clutching the scythe.

Hikari was so shocked of the fact that everyone was looking at her that she barely even realized that they knew her name. "I... I..."

"No! Give it to me! I am doing it to help Lloyd!"

Hikari looked to Lord Garmadon automatically, his teeth widening in a grin as he reached out with one of his arms. "You know Lloyd?" she asked, softly.

"Yes, and I know you two are best friends. He's my son! Now, give it to me!"

"Hikari, don't listen to him! We're Lloyd's friends, too! We're your friends!... in the future, so you wouldn't know about that. But, we're trying to save the world!" yelled the blue one.

"Don't listen to them! I'm doing this so I can be reunited with Lloyd!"

Hikari clutched the golden staff thing in her hands tighter as she shook her head. "I...!"

"Hikari, _please_ ," the other Kai said, looking in her eyes desperately, "we're telling the truth! Please...!"

Hikari looked at him. She might not know him all that well... but when she looked at the ninja, she felt a deep sense of trust, as if she _had_ met them all before, as if she knew them. But with the Garmadons, staring expectantly at her, reaching out their hands.

There was nothing that said that Garmadon was Lloyd's father. He didn't have anything that looked even remotely similar to Lloyd. Blonde hair? No. Green eyes? No. Lloyd's stubborn pride in his eyes? Not even that. No, it _was_ a sort of pride, a sort of wicked, mangled, twisted version of it.

Hikari stepped away from him, shaking her head. "You may be Lloyd's dad, but you're nothing like him," she said to him, and then she turned and threw the weapon towards the ninja.

"FIRE!" Kai yelled, firing a beam of fire that hit the Mega-Weapon in midair. Hikari gasped softly, stepping back. "LIGHTNING!" the blue ninja bellowed, firing the same kind of beam, except it was a lightning bolt. "EARTH!" shouted the black ninja, firing a stream of dirt, and then a stream of ice crystals followed it, preceded by the cry of "ICE!"

They all hit the Mega-Weapon, which started glowing and vibrating violently, stopping in midair. Hikari squinted as the weapon suddenly sucked in the Golden Weapons, making them whirl around in a spitting display of fireworks, and then shot straight through the ceiling and exploded into the night sky as a glowing star, spitting fireworks for hundreds of miles.

Nya started fading, and Hikari did too. Hikari gasped and looked at her hands, but then a small smile came over her face. If she was going to die, she'd died doing the right thing.

She looked up at the ninja, who all looked at her in panic. "HIKARI!" they all yelled.

She smiled at them. "I... it's okay. It's okay!" she called, waving, as the entire world began to fade to nothing but a white oblivion. "Good luck!"

Her last thought was that she hoped that Lloyd would be unhappy that she hadn't helped his dad.

And then everything disappeared.

* * *

Lloyd and Hikari sprinted down the hallway. "Lloyd, you just HAD to start showing me a new episode of that TV show you like!" Hikari puffed, "we're so late!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" Lloyd groaned back, as they burst through the door. "Sorry we're late, guys," Lloyd said.

"You ready to get training?" she asked, smiling, dusting herself off.

"You guys are still here!" And all four ninja dropped their weapons and enveloped the two of them in a hug, making the two of them blink.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Lloyd asked, casually.

Hikari was about to echo the sentiment when suddenly a flood of memories that she didn't remember having before entered her head, but they were ghostly... like they'd never existed...

Hikari's eyebrows shot up, and her mouth shut slightly as she looked at the ninja. Kai's face was near hers, eyes filled with relief.

She winked slightly at him, as they all stepped away from the two of them. Kai's scar stretched a bit in surprise as Jay sputtered, "So when we went back in time and destroyed Garmadon's Mega-Weapon, that- didn't change anything!?"

Kai went over and picked up a watermelon as Lloyd asked, looking thoroughly concerned, "My father has a Mega-Weapon?"

"Well, he _did_ , I think," Hikari said, thoughtfully, as Kai threw the watermelon into the air. "Wait, you've never heard of it Lloyd? Well then why does Hikari-?!"

"I don't know," Hikari responded, "but I think the 'death' of the Mega-Weapon, and of those memories you formed when you went back... I think those stayed with me for some reason."

Kai sliced the watermelon into six slices, and everyone caught one.

Lloyd blinked. "I guess I would've remembered that, if that's the case. But what was it? Should I be concerned?"

All the ninja burst out laughing. Lloyd looked around in confusion, "Hey, what are you guys laughing at? What's so funny?"

He took the sword from Kai and tossed his slice into the air, slicing the pink flesh of the watermelon into a miniature dragon, complete with seed fangs, before handing it over to Hikari. "For you!"

Hikari's eyes lit up as the two of them traded watermelon slices. "Oh...! This is pretty, thank you!"

"I think some things are best left in the past. C'mon, let's just prepare for the future," Kai said, and then all the ninja burst out laughing, and even Hikari let out a soft giggle.

Lloyd looked thoroughly flummoxed. "What? I don't get it?" Which just made the ninja laugh harder. Hikari looked out the window as she looked at Lloyd, whose older face looked so _cute_ when confused (she blushed a little at this thought) and noticed a single, shining star in the distance, which, for a single moment, flashed gold.

 **A/N: Holy crap this was long! And I managed to fit Hikari being in this episode reasonably. :) And yes, she can sense the 'death' or destruction of memories or other things, since that's her element. For that matter I guess Lloyd can sense when things first come to life.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **Shelly Marsh: Haha, yep**

 **Michelle Rita: Woahhh! I'm glad you like this fanfiction so much! xD I'm getting so much positive feedback on this story!**

 **Ninjago 76: Sorry? I don't understand French... (even though I took it this year, I only know a few words in that sentence)**

 **MMM: Mayyybe :3**

 **Quotev:**

 **lloydninjago: Oh yeah xD Guess that's true**

 **cookiecat567: Thumbs up!**

 **Dream Lighting: Why do you feel bad for them again? Confused 0-0**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	20. Chapter 20

Hikari yawned as she stretched, already wearing her purple ninja gi, walking past the ninja's room.

A series of groans and thuds and alarm clock ringings reached her ears, and she doubled back and looked through the doorway in time to see Lloyd sitting up and shooting a green energy sphere, blowing up the alarm clock.

"Is it Wednesday already?" Lloyd moaned groggily, rubbing his head tiredly. He was still in his pajamas.

Hikari couldn't help but giggle at this. "Glad to see you're using your powers _maturely_ ," she said, emphasizing the last word.

Lloyd looked up at Hikari's voice, his face turning the faintest shade of pink. "Oh! Hikari. Hey," he said, his voice sounding oddly squeaky. Hikari leaned against the doorframe. "Hey," she said back casually, though inside a storm of butterflies were insisting they bust their way out. "Guys, did you forget there's a sunrise exercise today?"

"No," Jay moaned, "I _hate_ sunrise exercise."

Sensei Wu walked through the open door. "Good morning! Morning, morning! It's a new day. Up, up!"

Zane looked totally fine, while the other guys looked as though they were zombies (in terms of being awake. In terms of looks they were perfectly fine, and some of the ninja's not-so-secret fans thought they looked more than fine, if you know what she means). "Before we start out with our sunrise exercise, the dragon made another mess outside. It looks like a... two person job." And then he slammed the door again.

Hikari looked at the ninja. They all suddenly claimed they heard an SOS call or that they hadn't heard Sensei.

Lloyd glared. "You might've been able to dump chores on me when I was a kid," he accused them, "but I'm grown up now! That's not fair!"

The ninja paused in the doorway, and Hikari added, crossing her arms and arching her eyebrow, "Plus, Sensei said it was a _two-person_ job. And I don't know about you guys, but if Lloyd skives off too, you're leaving me to deal with the whole mess."

Kai sighed and turned back with the others, looking guilty. Lloyd smothered a grin and whispered in her ear from behind, "You might not be a kid anymore but you can still charm people to your advantage. And I think the fact you're still pretty cute helps."

Hikari turned red, and Lloyd froze as he realized what he said, before clearing his throat and straightened up. "Um.. anyway..."

"You're right, Lloyd. We need to settle this like men. With a round of rock, paper clamp!" Kai said, sounding very cheerful at the end, almost like a child, and Hikari casually crawled underneath one of the beds. "Seeing as I'm automatically a candidate for this job, I'm exempt from this," she said, starting to shake with laughter.

"On three. One, two, three!" Presumably Lloyd lost anyway, because they heard a slap of the hands and a cheering sound from Jay, and a groan from Lloyd.

"Paper beats rock!" Jay gloated as Hikari came back out, still smiling but no longer in danger of having a laughing fit.

Lloyd grumbled again. "How does paper beat rock?" he asked, sounding annoyed as Hikari stood next to him, and putting an arm around her shoulder and pouting at her. "Well... looks like we're on pooper scooper duty," he said, sounding vexed.

Hikari giggled slightly, making his scowl fade. "Well, when you put it like that..."

 _I see you're getting chummy with Lloyd again._

Hikari's smile faded at these words from Nariko. _**Oh great. You. Shouldn't you be off being an annoying shadow in that arena or something?**_

 _I'm hurt! I just wanted to notice that you two are getting along very well! Maybe... maybe you two want to be MORE than just friends?_

Hikari felt sure that her face had turned the shade of a fire engine.

 ** _Shut up before I punch you into oblivion. I'm much stronger than I was before. Bug_** _**off!**_

 _"_ Hikari?"

Hikari snapped out of her thoughts to see Lloyd waving a hand in her face. "You okay there? You just kinda.. zoned out, for a moment there."

 _Just remember. Light is darkness's enemy, and YOU are the dark side of the four elements. Lloyd is not your friend._

Hikari's face turned more stony. _She's wrong,_ she thought to herself, _Lloyd's the best friend I've ever had._ "Yeah," she said aloud, "I'm fine- just thinking. C'mon, we're still on pooper scooper duty."

Lloyd smirked and punched her on the shoulder with his free hand. "Gee, thanks for reminding me."

"No problem," Hikari teased back.

* * *

Lloyd groaned as he held the bag at arms' length, Hikari holding the shovel she'd used to clean up the poop at arms length as well. "Why do we always have to do the dirty work?" he muttered, darkly.

"Hey, having a pet dragon requires a lot of responsibility," Cole said, gesturing at the dragon casually. Jay looked at Lloyd in confusion. "Didn't either of your moms ever let you have a pet?"

Hikari dropped the shovel with a clang. Everyone looked at her, and was startled to see tears welling up in her eyes. She stared at Jay for a moment, before storming towards the dragon's four heads, wiping away tears as she went.

"What? What did I say wrong?" Jay asked, pleadingly, confused.

"I don't remember my mom," Lloyd said flatly, "she abandoned me when I was really young."

Kai blinked. "She just left? Who took care of you?" he asked, sounding concerned.

Lloyd sighed. "I spent my whole life at Darkley's Boarding School," he replied, "and it wasn't a lot of fun until I met Hikari."

"Speaking of which, what did I say wrong?" Jay interrupted again. "I don't get why she got so upset!

Lloyd glared at Jay slightly. "Jay, did you forget? Her mom died when she was little-"

"I do remember," Jay interrupted hotly, but Lloyd plowed on resiliently, his voice rising even louder, "and she still _remembers it!_ She has nightmares about it still, and I don't think they're getting any better!"

Jay stared at Lloyd, aghast. "But I can't tell she-"

"No, you can't, because she hides it! She doesn't like worrying everyone! The only reason I know is because I know her too well! We've been friends for three years straight and see each other almost every day, of _course_ I'm gonna be able to read her so easily!" Lloyd fumed slightly, and he would've dumped pooper-scooper duty on someone else and run off to comfort her, except Nya slid down the chain of the anchor.

"I have a mission for you!" she shouted. "It's the Museum of History! They've asked for you guys, something's REALLY strange has just happened."

"What?" Kai asked, sounding worried, and Nya pointed again. "You're gonna have to see it to believe it."

Hikari joined up with the others, and Lloyd handed over the bag to her as he started to follow the others. "Here, Nya, hold this-" and then ran off to join the others.

Nya stared after him in confusion. "Wait, what am I supposed to do with these?" she noticed Flame looking at her expectantly, and her face fell. "Oh."

* * *

"Hikari?"

Hikari didn't even look at Jay, didn't even stand NEAR him, but stayed near Lloyd.

Jay tried again. "Hikari, I'm really, REALLY sorry... heh, I guess that's why Cole calls me mouth of lightning..."

Nothing. Not her usual smile, not a small smile, not even a giggle. No reaction.

Jay groaned. "Man, I think I pissed Hikari off."

"Be glad she's not angry at you, but I'd make up with her as soon as you can," Kai advised.

Jay threw up his hands as they ran. "Well, I am, but she just doesn't even want to try-"

" _She_ ," Hikari said, still not looking at Jay, "does not appreciate being talked about as if she's not even there."

"Hikari, seriously, I'm _sorry!_ " Jay shouted, frustrated, "I know I brushed on a sensitive topic, but I really didn't mean to!"

Hikari shot him a look, and Jay's mouth immediately clapped shut- not only because of the cold expression on her face, but because of the fact he was fairly certain he'd seen red in her eyes.

 _See? Jay insulted your mother's memory! I told you you couldn't trust your 'friends'._

Hikari took a deep breath to calm down. _**It wasn't on purpose,**_ she reasoned with herself/Nariko, **_no, I think he really forgot..._**

She could practically hear Nariko's derisive laughter in her ear. _Forgot?! That's most certainly a blow to your mother's memory, one of your so called 'friends' forgetting that his friend's mother died-_

 ** _I haven't mentioned it since!_** Hikari thought furiously, _**I've barely said a word about it to anybody, anyone.. anyone would forget... anyone would forget the fact that I have nightmares!**_

 _Ahh, but... forget the fact that your parents died?_

Hikari stopped talking to Nariko. Trying to calm herself down in her mind no longer worked, Nariko sensing any mental isolation the moment it happened and amplifying any negative emotions towards anything Hikari might have at the time, but that was the only way she COULD calm herself down, so at this point Hikari felt positively unfriendly towards Jay.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" the museum curator said, relieved.

"We heard there was an emergency here?" Sensei Wu asked, as Hikari tried to ignore Jay- perhaps what she needed was some time away from the 'offending' thing and she'd calm down- and the curator nodded hastily. "Yes, come come, quickly, this way!"

They walked through a set of doors as the curator said, "The Stone Warrior exhibit opens to the public tonight, and this couldn't have come at a worse time!"

"What couldn't have come at a worse time?" Hikari asked, from where she was bringing up the rear.

"Ninjago City appreciates your help in destroying the Great Devourer sometime back, but it appears its toxic venom has seeped into the city sewer system, and has had the most- unusual aftereffects!"

The boys let out a groan, and even Hikari winced slightly, at the sour, sickly sweet, and bitter smell the venom gave off. The curator opened another door, to reveal hundreds of little stone statues with glowing green eyes jabbering loudly throughout the room.

"The toxicity in the venom somehow brought our merchandise to life! They're so unruly... I just didn't know who else to call!"

Hikari squinted at them, the fascinating thing about the situation almost obliterating how positively angry she felt. "Fascinating... they don't appear to be undead warriors or anything..."

Two of them leaped right into Zane and Hikari's hands. The one in Zane's hand sniggered and punched Zane, but Hikari's suddenly started cooing and nuzzling her hand, making Hikari stare at it as if it were a snake w.

The curator said something about containing the damage to the gift shop, but Hikari wandered straight into the midst of all of the mini stone warriors, and suddenly THEY started cooing, nuzzling her and mewling like a bunch of kittens.

Thoroughly bewildered, Hikari turned to her friends with this flummoxed expression on her face. "Um..."

"Hold still, Hikari," Kai said, and then the whole room turned into a smashing spree. The miniature Stone Warriors refused to stop protecting Hikari, so the ninja tried to swipe them off. One crawled right onto Hikari's face, and a pair of nunchucks shattered the stone away before the claws could puncture her eyes or something.

Hikari glanced down, knowing who it was. "Thank you, Jay," she said, feeling rather stiff and formal, as she found herself knee-deep in a sea of stone shards. The rest of the room seemed rather in turmoil, and Jay chuckled sheepishly. "Uh.. oops?"

Hikari stared at him. "Oops? Oops? We just pretty much demolished a small section of the museum and all you can say is 'oops?'" she asked him, sounding incredulous.

Jay rubbed his head. "Um... yeah?"

Hikari was silent for a minute, before surprising everyone, including herself, with the softest chuckle. "Okay then." She glanced up and looked around. "Hey, where's Sensei?"

The ninja looked around, as if just now realizing he was not in the room. "O-oh yeah..."

They poked their heads out into the hallway and looked around, before noticing a hint of the hat he always wore disappearing around the corner. Hikari's eyes widened. "Hey, where's he going?" she asked, and without any warning started to chase after him herself, the ninja all following, Lloyd only a step behind, before seeing him standing on top of a small pile of stone shards and a woman with gray hair and deep green eyes speaking with him.

"Ahem!" Jay cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look at the small group, "so, are we gonna get an introduction?" he asked, sheepishly.

Sensei Wu started a bit, as if he'd nearly forgotten. "Y-yes, eh, this is Misako. Lloyd's..." short pause. "... mother."

Everyone let out a loud gasp, Hikari's eyes widening, as Lloyd walked forward. "My... my mother?!" he looked shocked and stopped, still standing at the back of the group, and Misako's eyes lit up. "Lloyd?" she asked, softly, before approaching her son, slowly, as if afraid he were an apparition. "My little boy... you're so much bigger than I remember."

Lloyd's green eyes, the same as Misako's, clouded with anger as he looked away. "Yeah, well, it's been a long time," he said brusquely. Misako reached out slightly, a soft, worried smile on her face. "I... I didn't want us to meet like this. I have a reason why I've been away-"

"Yeah, well, I don't want to hear it," Lloyd said tersely, and turned on his heel and ran out of the room. Hikari's eyes widened. "L-Lloyd!" she chased right after him.

* * *

She found him sitting next to a huge hole in the floor, down one of the corridors, that was roped off. "Lloyd?" she asked, timidly.

Lloyd didn't even turn his head. Hikari had to wonder if their mannerisms were really so similar. "Lloyd, it's me, Hikari."

Still no response. Hikari sat next to him gingerly, her own legs dangling over the hole. She waited for him to say something, anything.

"... my mom's here," he said at last, gruffly.

"I know," Hikari said patiently, before sighing and looking down at her feet. "You're lucky, though."

Lloyd looked at her, confusion in his eyes. Hikari hesitated, before leaning into him a bit, tears welling in her own eyes. "Well... at least both of your parents are alive. Even if your dad is evil, Lloyd, and your mom left you, they're still there for you in real life. Mine, though... well, there's no way I'm going to bump into them randomly at a museum, or confront them, or anything," Hikari said, looking down, "they're just... not there."

Lloyd was quiet, before saying softly, in a voice much softer than his usual teasing tone, "Is that why you're mad at Jay?"

"No. I'm mad at Jay because he reminded me of the life I can never have. I can't ever be _normal_ ," Hikari said, letting out a bitter laugh that had never come from Hikari, that no one would've ever expected from Hikari. "I can't argue with my parents. I can't have a first pet. I can't ever get embarrassed by my parents or feel appreciative for them. I'm never going to be able to get guidance from them about a boyfriend, or be able to spend time with my dad, or even get to go shopping with my mom for clothes or something. I'll never get to do _any_ of that," she said, her voice getting faster and thicker and more pained, "and I won't ever get to introduce them to my friends and have them like or hate them. I won't ever get to have them meet you, or Kai, or Zane, or Cole, or even Jay. I won't ever be able to go through growing up with my parents because they're _not there anymore!_ "

Hikari's voice broke, and she stopped talking, her hands clenched into white, trembling fists on her lap as tears poured silently down her face. Probably weeks, possibly _months_ of frustration and pain and worry poured out in those few crucial moments.

Lloyd found himself feeling incredibly sorry for Hikari. "So.. I guess if you found out _your_ mom was still alive and ran into her..."

"I'd be ecstatic," Hikari said, more tears rolling down her face. "I would feel like it was Christmas."

Lloyd hesitated, and then reached an arm around her. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You did nothing wrong. No, this is all me, I'm just one big massive screwup," Hikari said hollowly, shaking her head. "I could've saved my parents, I could've- I could've-"

Lloyd's hand tightened on her arm as more tears spilled out over her face. "Don't say that." His voice sounded low, threatening... dangerous.

"Wha-" Hikari was yanked around so that her face was right up near Lloyd's, her sparkling silvery eyes wide as they met hard green. Lloyd looked fiercer than ever, and his eyes were practically glowing with fury. "Don't EVER say that. You are one of the best human beings on the planet. After all, you were willing to become my friend even when I wasn't. You're willing to forgive EVERYONE. You are _amazing_ ," he insisted.

Hikari felt her cheeks grow pink, but before she could say anything they heard the door behind them opening. "I'd be careful with that hole, you two- it doesn't have a bottom."

Both of them turned to see Misako walking towards them, and Hikari quickly wiped her face. Her eyes were still a little red, though.

"It's where I found the ancient stone warrior, son," Misako added, standing right behind the two as Lloyd looked at his mom. Her graying hair was in a braid as she looked at him patiently, and suddenly he felt angry. "Uh, _son?!_ " he asked angrily, his arm still entwined with Hikari's, "You've been gone my whole life! And there's nothing you can say.

"Well, I'm going to talk anyway," Misako said patiently, as Hikari wiped her face again and turned around to face Misako a bit more, dragging Lloyd so he was half-facing her. "You want to know what I've been doing all of this time?" she asked, moving, and Hikari moved with her, forcing Lloyd to keep even halfway eye contact with his mother. "Long before Sensei Wu EVER knew who would be the Green or the Purple Ninja, I knew one of them would be you, and I knew you would eventually have to fight your father. I dropped you off at the boarding school so I could go learn everything I could about the prophecy, in hope of one day _preventing_ the final battle of good and evil." She turned to finally face Lloyd head on, "All this time, son, I've been trying to save you and your father."

Hikari looked at Lloyd, who finally made eye contact with his mother. Misako looked heartened, and continued, "Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master."

"Yeah, yeah," Lloyd interrupted, making Hikari arch her eyebrow as she looked at him, "we've heard the story a hundred times."

Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was true that they'd heard the story before. Misako glanced at Lloyd sidelong as Sensei Wu and the other ninja quietly entered, "But you've only heard half of it."

Hikari sat up straight now, leaning forward a bit. Misako continued, "In Ninjago, there has always been a thin balance between good and evil. So you know about how the First Spinjitzu Master created Ninjago, but what if I were to tell you in order for there to be light, there must be shadow- and within shadow, there is darkness."

Lloyd squeezed Hikari's hand. "The First Spinjitzu Master knew, that not all darkness was evil, of course, and he set out to conquer both sides of both elements- and he succeeded. However, he was not the only one who could control darkness in Ninjago. The blackest of darkness, an ancient, evil spirit resided there as well, a spirit called the Overlord."

Zane looked to Sensei Wu, "Did you know about this, Sensei?"

Sensei Wu shook his head slightly. "I'd hoped that if I kept it secret, that name would never be spoke again."

"The balance was at stake," Misako continued, quietly, "and their battle could've gone on for eternity- darkness being used against darkness as well as the light, and the darkness struggling to release itself- each side powerful, neither could truly conquer the other. Until the Overlord created his indestructible warriors- the Stone Army. The Spinjitzu Master did what he could, but he knew he would soon be defeated. So instead of losing the war, he divided Ninjago into the Ninjago we know today, and the Dark Island. And lucky for us, since then, there has been no trace of the Overlord, or his Stone Army- until my recent discovery."

Kai blinked slowly, the scar on his face shrinking slightly as he frowned. "So that's why the battle has yet to be decided... it was never finished!"

"But where IS this Dark Island? I've never heard of it," Cole said, extending his hands.

Misako shrugged slightly. "Disappeared, I presume. But the legend states that so long as the balance between good and evil remains even, the Overlord shall remain trapped from this world. I have always feared your father's ambition would lead to a shift in the balance... that is why he must be stopped," she said.

"We have each felt the power of the First Spinjitzu Master," Sensei Wu spoke up, "passed on to us in the form of the Elemental Weapons. But now, that power has been inherited by the Green and Purple Ninja, which is why only Lloyd and Hikari can defeat the ultimate evil. Or else all of Ninjago will fall prey to its darkness."

"Leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," Misako said softly, looking at Lloyd. More similarities seemed to jump out at Lloyd- the way their faces crinkled up when they smiled, the chin, the shape of the eyes. "But faced with saving you and the world, I had no other choice."

Lloyd sat there, before he simply nodded. Then he looked at his mother hopefully. "Have you discovered a way to stop me from facing my father?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, not yet," Misako apologized, "but I have reason to believe there's still hope."

Hikari suddenly let out a gasp as a horrible thought occurred to her, and everyone looked at her. "Oh... guys, I just remembered, remember what just happened in the gift shop? If the Great Devourer's venom can bring NORMAL, miniature stone warriors to life... what about the huge, indestructible one that Misako just found?" she asked, in a small voice.

Lloyd's eyes widened. "Oh... we never thought about that!" he exclaimed, "that's right... mom?"

Misako had a fleeting look of happiness on her face, as she frowned. "That... that's correct. Unfortunately, I think your theory is correct- if the Great Devourer's venom can truly bring small stone warriors to life, it can almost certainly bring the Stone Warrior I found back to life."

As if on cue, the Stone Warrior smashed through the doorway, drawing exclamations from everybody. "AGH!" Jay yelled, which pretty much summed the situation up. Hikari bit her lip, and then went towards it slowly. "H-hey... well, not little guy... big guy?"

The Stone Warrior stopped brandishing its swords, and looked at her, as everyone froze and stared and dared to hope against hope that she could properly distract it. "Hello there..." Hikari said softly, her mouth dryer than the Sea of Sand.

The Stone Warrior paused, before kneeling down (cracking the floor) and letting Hikari pet it.

"Kai, you go handle it," Cole whispered.

"Me? Uh, okay," Kai whispered back, pulling on his hood slowly to avoid attracting the thing's attention. As far as they could tell, the huge statue's attention seemed riveted on Hikari.

Kai charged and drew his sword, before leaping into the air and striking, right on the neck of the warrior.

The warrior roared and struck Kai back, and Hikari had to leap backwards to avoid the huge hand closing in on her like a construction crane. "Ahh!" she cried, as shards of Kai's sword scattered all over the floor. Kai shook his head a little. "Wow. In my minds' eye I saw that playing out entirely differently." Hikari couldn't help but giggle a bit at the comment, and completely missed Lloyd's slight pout.

The Stone Warrior grabbed Kai, making him yelp as it dangled him upside down. "The Overlord created his Stone Army from an indestructible material found only on the Dark Island!" Misako shouted, and Kai groaned as his face started turning red. "Oh, right, how did I forget thAAAAAAAAA-!" The Stone Warrior flicked Kai over his shoulder almost contemptuously, and Kai did three flips before smashing into a vase.

"Lloyd, Hikari, use your powers!" Sensei Wu ordered, and Lloyd and Hikari both stepped forward. Sparks of energy formed into a sphere in each of their hands, but Lloyd's formed into a glowing, bright green sphere, while Hikari's turned into a darker, purple blob. Both blasted the Stone Warrior back and left a mixture of green and purple fire blazing there in the doorway. Everyone cheered a bit, but it was cut off as the Stone Warrior loomed through the fire, looking even more ominous than before.

"How are we supposed to destroy this thing?" Cole asked, stepping backwards.

Misako shook her head. "You can't."

The Stone Warrior stomped on the fire, extinguishing it and leaving plumes of smoke flooding the doorway. All three ninja threw on their hoods and charged. The shurikens Zane threw merely bounced off of the Stone Warrior's indestructible body, the Stone Warrior sent Cole flying, and he nearly stepped on Jay before Jay curled himself up into a little ball and rebounded off of the Stone Warrior. "Wh-whoa, easy there big guy!" he squeaked, terror in every line of his face. "Uh, this just as an aside, you really need to lose a few pounds!" he let out a high pitched giggle, and then a yelp as the Stone Warrior swiped at him. Apparently that really irked the Stone Warrior. Huh.

Jay slid backwards and nearly fell into the bottomless pit, but Hikari caught his hand and yanked him away from it. "Oh man," she groaned, "at least the little ones could be smashed pretty easily!"

The next minute, all seven of them were hurled out of the room/hallway, and smashed into the walls harshly. "Ugh, this is going to be MUCH harder than a bunch of bobble-heads, fellas," Cole groaned as he sat up.

Jay approached the room and said, in a very high-pitched voice, "Well, then it's a good thing we're in a museum?"

Misako blinked, "Why's that?" she asked, sounding confused.

"Because we're all about to become HISTORY!" Jay screamed in terror as he started to flee, "RUN!"

Everyone ran away from the huge warrior, down a hallway. Lloyd shut the door, but the warrior just smashed right through it. Lloyd glanced over his shoulder as he sprinted along with Hikari. "The guy's got a pair of sneakers on him! PICK UP THE PACE! GO GO GO!"

Everyone ran even faster now, fueled by sheer terror. They reached the main part of the museum, and fled up a flight of stairs, but the Stone Warrior kept pursuing them. "This guy's persistent, isn't he?!" Hikari screeched as they ran, and Kai agreed, "He's pretty fast for a big guy!"

They rushed through a set of two doors and shut them. One of the swords smashed through, making Zane and Cole start back in shock as they all backed away. The glowing, sickly green eyes of the Warrior peered through the hole as it roared furiously, before ramming the door again.

"This thing is _unstoppable!_ " Cole complained, as it rammed the doors again, Zane remarking, "Indestructible, to be precise."

"That door ain't gonna hold him forever," Kai said, worriedly, and Jay looked at the others while panting. "Then let's settle this like men! With rock, paper, clamp! Loser has to face him, so the rest can escape!"

Everyone put their hands in, and Lloyd and Hikari tried to join.. but...

"Not _you_ , Chosen Ones," Jay joked slightly, before turning back to the others.

Hikari's eyes suddenly lit up, and she looked at Lloyd. Judging by his expression, he'd had the same idea, and the both of them chorused loudly, "WAIT!"

All the ninja turned to look at them as Lloyd said, looking at Hikari excitedly, "That's it!"

"What's.. it?" Sensei Wu asked, and Hikari looked at the ninja. "If you guys can keep that thing busy, I think we know how to stop him!" she said, and her eyes were sparkling with excitement.

Kai and Zane looked to Cole automatically, who said, after a moments' hesitation, "I say we give the kids a shot!"

Jay glared at Cole, "You're just saying that 'cause you're too afraid to face him!"

The Stone Warrior rammed the doors again, and Jay said, a bit tight-lipped now, "I say we give the kids a shot."

Lloyd and Hikari ran to a corner of the room, opened the vent, and crawled through.

"Ow, Lloyd, that's my hand-!"

"Ow! Hikari, I think you just kicked me!"

"Oh, sorry! Didn't mean- LLOYD, stop leaning on my leg, that hurts!"

"Sorry!"

After a minute of fumbling through the darkness, they made it back to the room. Hikari grabbed a huge roll of wallpaper from the corner, and Lloyd had grabbed some of the paint near the door as well.

"We have to hurry, I don't think the ninja can hold them for too long!"

They worked together, pasting the paper down and painting over it, while Hikari tore away the ropes that blocked off the sinkhole. If you didn't look too closely, the work they did was quite good, actually.

"Done!" Lloyd announced, stepping away from the hole.

Hikari bit her lip and looked up. "Not a moment too soon, I think he's here!"

As if the thing had just been waiting, a huge feral roar sounded as it broke through the doorway again, Misako a few feet in front of it. Misako sprinted over to Lloyd and Hikari, and Lloyd yelled up to the Stone Warrior as it charged, "Hey, loser!"

Hikari couldn't repress a slight smirk as she chorused with Lloyd, "PAPER BEATS ROCK!"

And as the Stone Warrior swung its sword, Hikari wrapped her arm around Lloyd's neck, and Lloyd grabbed both her and his mother, as they leapt sideways. The Stone Warrior's charge and momentum was too much, and it momentarily stood before the wallpaper gave way, and it plummeted back into the hole.

Lloyd and Hikari let out a sigh of relief as Misako gasped. "Of course.. the bottomless pit!"

Misako wrapped her arms around Lloyd, Hikari stepping back to give the two a moment, and after a moment he returned the hug. "I am so proud of you," she whispered softly, "I feel like the balance has brought us together."

Sensei Wu stepped forward, making Hikari jump a bit. "Stay with us. Help us fight the good fight."

"If that's okay with my son," and Misako looked at Lloyd. Lloyd grinned at his mother. "Hey- the more, the merrier."

She beamed at him before the two of them hugged again.

Hikari walked over to Jay, who tensed as she approached.

And then she bopped him on the head and made him yelp. "You owe me candy," she told him firmly, before grinning and yanking him into a hug. "And I forgive you, I guess."

Jay chuckled nervously as she let him go, completely oblivious to the shadow that had fallen across Lloyd's face... and ignoring the fact that inside her, Nariko had a smirk on her face, and she had no clue why.

 **A/N: Oh holy Spinjitzu Master this chapter was so long! It actually took me this long to write -_- and playing Cookie Clicker didn't help.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **For once... none.**

 **Quotev:**

 **Dream lighting: Oh, okay. Thanks!**

 **DarkTeddyXX: I'm glad you are (wiggles eyebrows)**

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 **Wattpad: Also none.**

 **Less comments on my last update. Huh.**

 **Welp, have a nice day!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	21. Chapter 21

Lloyd and Hikari glanced around Dareth's dojo, which they'd gone back just to say hi when Dareth pretty much accosted them and begged them to stay (apparently he wanted company). That wasn't any use of the moment, however, since they currently had blindfolds on. "Don't rely on your eyes," Cole instructed, "use your ears."

All of the ninja lifted their weapons (from the sound of it), and suddenly Hikari heard Dareth's voice. "Uh, guys? I'm teaching a class later, so, I'd appreciate a clean dojo-"

A step and a swish, and Lloyd and Hikari leaped up automatically. Judging by the metallic clink of the weapons, the ninja'd struck but missed. Hikari lashed out and hit something that seemed small- so, a shuriken. Lloyd grabbed something (with both hands, if Hikari had to guess, and she flatted herself to the ground and rolled right at someone, knocking them over. Lloyd then swung his feet over her as he clung to the scythe, she could feel the air swishing over her back.

Two groans from Jay and Zane (so judging by that, she'd knocked over Cole or Kai) and Cole grunted a second later. More footsteps, and Lloyd jumped into the air, dodging a sword hit (nunchucks had a good chance of backlashing and therefore had different feelings than a sword, or a scythe, for example, so that was Kai's attack) and Hikari kicked someone backwards, making a metallic clatter that blocked out sound. Judging by Dareth's shrieks and Jay's groan, she'd knocked Jay into Dareth's trophies.

Lloyd kicked someone else, and Hikari punched again, while Dareth repeatedly chanted "no no no!" as if it were some sort of bizarre mantra. The window opened, and someone went flying out, and then Dareth shut the door again.

Flames blazed to life in both their hands, both oddly tinged, and Dareth screeched again and stomped on it. Faintly, Hikari could hear Jay's voice complaining, "Hey! Open the window! Let me in!" So Hikari had knocked Jay out the window... whoops.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled, and Hikari yelped as she stumbled off balance. "Is this a joke? Lloyd?"

"Wasn't me," and Hikari felt his hand reach out and tug off her mask, green eyes meeting her own dark gray ones. She smiled and then looked around before switching on the TV, as Sensei Wu and Misako joined the six of them. Seven if you counted Dareth. "Gail Gossip here," said the perky reporter, "here on the scene of what appears to an earthquake rocking the city of Ninjago! And it's an earthquake like no other, as scientists have yet to pinpoint the cause, and more frightening still, the aftershocks are getting stronger!"

The building shook again, and Cole spoke, "What do you think this could be?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was Garmadon- we haven't seen him for a while," Kai commented. Hikari frowned and crossed her arms thoughtfully as Misako spoke up, "He would never. Lloyd's father is evil, but he would never do anything to put his son in harm's way."

"Yeah, mainly just tried to thwart our training, or hurt the ninja. So this has to be something else," Hikari said, thoughtfully.

She blinked the arena back into her mind as Zane summoned his falcon. "... I think I might have an idea," she said suddenly, and everyone glanced at her.

"Nariko just said-"

"Nariko?" everyone chorused, confused.

Hikari blinked. "... oh yeah, never introduced you, did I? One sec." She blinked very hard. The next minute, her eyes glowed pure red when she opened them.

" _Let me take over you a bit, did you?_ " a harsher, echoing voice echoed out of Hikari. "Just a bit, yes," Hikari agreed. "Nariko, meet my friends, the ninja. You know them pretty well I think."

" _Oh yes... Hikari's so called 'friends'_ ," Hikari sneered. It was odd to hear a voice that was very obviously not Hikari's issuing out of her, and Kai glared at 'Nariko'. "Hey! We're her friends!"

 _"So you say..._ "

"Nariko..." Hikari's voice returned, full of warning.

" _Fine, fine, just saying- those guys are on-"_

"We're all on the good side, Nariko, and nothing you say can change my mind. Now shut up and go back to hiding in my skull or whatever you like to do when I ignore you."

Hikari blinked again, and her eyes were back to normal. "Nariko is this sort of shade who resides in my head. I'm not sure if she's like a split personality... although I guess it's possible, since I suffered trauma..."

"Why did she call us your 'so called' friends?" Jay asked. Hikari either didn't hear him, or she pretended not to, because the next thing that she said, "Anyway, what Nariko said was to try seeing what was underground. So..."

Hikari knelt down and placed her hands on the ground, her eyes shutting as she tried to sense things underground. Dareth remarked offhandedly, and very quietly, "She's kinda hot now that she's older..."

Lloyd shot Dareth an acidic glare that could've burned through wood, and Dareth subsided, trying to make himself seem small behind Sensei Wu. The ninja all exchanged knowing looks behind Lloyd, and Misako's eyes sparkled as if she'd suddenly realized something.

Everone tensed as Hikari suddenly shivered, her entire body shuddering before she removed her hands. "Well, what I got was that the Serpentine are digging underground... I guess they're trying to displace the whole city and bury it, like we buried them a long time ago," Hikari said, her eyes unfocused, "but... there's a small area... underground... well, not small area, large area..."

"What about it?" Lloyd asked, putting his hand on Hikari's shoulder. "Well, underground... something dark... very dark... is buried there. I can't tell what it is though, just... the feeling of darkness makes it through the walls of this large chamber thing..."

"Well, we have to go make sure that everyone's okay!" Cole exclaimed, and they all charged outside. They must have looked incredibly dramatic as they burst out the dojo door, because people stared at them.

And then the ground started splitting apart, and everyone started panicking. A section of the street a little away started to break, and a woman was running towards her poodle when the ground beneath her dropped away. They could hear her screams for help, and Lloyd yelled, charging forward, "Ninja to the rescue!"

He jumped in, and then Hikari, and then Zane, then Jay, then Kai- then Cole latched onto Kai's ankles, and they all latched onto one another in a chain. The woman was too far down, and only a foot out of reach. Hikari gritted her teeth, clinging to Lloyd tightly as he grunted, "Just a few... more inches..."

The poodle faintly barked, and Cole remarked, "Appreciate the support, doggy!"

The woman managed to latch onto Lloyd's hands, just as the ground Cole was standing on broke away. He jumped back in time, but the chain swung crazily and everyone yelled out, the dog barking loudly.

"Could've thought this plan through," Cole groaned, beginning to drag them all out of danger. Hikari felt her hand slip, and then did something that could possibly go very wrong- she let go with one hand, making Lloyd and the woman swing crazily to one side, and then threw them using the previous momentum as they swung the other way, making the ninja and the woman cry out in fear. The two of them sailed to safety, and the woman stopped screaming and called out, "Thank you!"

Hikari waved, as Cole managed to drag the whole group to safety. "No problem!"

"Speak for yourself," Cole groaned, exhausted.

Lloyd reached a hand out, and helped her up. Hikari looked up gratefully, her hand clinging to his as she managed to stand up. For a moment, it felt like the two of them were the only ones there, staring into one another's eyes...

And then Hikari blushed at the train of thought, and looked down. She vaguely realized she was still holding Lloyd's hand. Lloyd evidently noticed as well, and blushed a bit before letting her go. "Oh- um- well-"

"Thanks," Hikari said softly, and he glanced away, both of their faces pink. "Y-you're welcome," he stuttered out.

"These things keep coming with no warning!" Kai almost swore angrily, and Misako ran up to them with a scroll. "That's it- a warning. The scrolls said the earthquakes would be a warning for something far worse to come."

"Far worse?!" Jay sputtered, "what could be far worse?!"

Hikari let out a cry suddenly and almost fell again, Lloyd caught her. "Darkness- dark- it's so- dark!" Hikari screamed out, her hands clutching her hair, making her look almost deranged. "So- _so dark-!_ " Lloyd held her tightly as her head shook furiously. She didn't look very sane right now. It didn't help that the day was sunny.

Her eyes flew open, and she was now holding her heart, eyes wide with fear. "Something dark... something really, truly dark... it's been unleashed," she whispered, shivering again. "I've only felt that once before..."

"When was that?"

"Yesterday. That stone warrior... that was the _only other time_ something so dark has hit me... but it's... much heavier... much, much heavier... much darker..."

"You don't think there's more?!" Cole exclaimed, shock in his voice. "That's exactly.. what I think," Hikari managed. Her face was paler than before, but her hands dropped to her sides and she managed to straighten up as much as she could, her face pale with worry.

Zane let out a sudden sound of alarm. "Sensei... it's as we fear. Another stone samurai warrior is loose on the streets."

A sudden cracking sound sounded, and everyone yelped and jumped back as a stone hand erupted from the ground. And then, all along the street, arms cracked through the asphalt and reached up, and then more attacked.

Hikari hesitantly stepped forward, extending her arms to protect the others. Immediately, the ones that were out went over to her, nuzzling her as if they were baby kittens. Hikari stood there, and then glanced back at the others with this look that essentially said 'WTF'. Even though she didn't know what that meant...

"Um... nice Stone Army," she said, sounding as if they weren't really very nice at all, "good Stone Army..."

She looked back at them, confused. "Um... what do I do now?" she asked. Kai shrugged helplessly.

Hikari gently pushed them off. "Um, sorry guys, I- I gotta go..." They latched on again, and Hikari lost patience. "Oh, let go, would you?!" she exploded, and stone columns enveloped them as now-feral roars tore out of their throats. Lloyd had run off somewhere.

"Sorry!" she apologized immediately, and then they heard a scream. Zane ran over and booted one Stone Warrior away, and caught the news reporter, who was being filmed by... Dareth, for some reason.

"You seem in need of assistance," he said, and Gail was gushing gratefully, "Thanks, Mr. Ninja!"

More of the Stone Army charged, and Hikari groaned. "Oh, god, please don't let them see me..."

Suddenly, the Ultra-Sonic Raider screeched around, smashing through the army that had just appeared, and Sensei Wu jumped over it, shouting, "We must protect the people! Gather as many as you can and get them to our evacuation point!"

Nya suddenly crackled to life on the Ultra Sonic Raider, which Lloyd was commandeering. "We've got problems with that evacuation point, guys!" she shouted, "I can't find a safe place to land!"

"The roof of MGTV Studios office building has a helipad on the roof," Gail offered, "Yes! Higher ground!" Sensei Wu agreed, "Lloyd, tell Nya to get to higher ground!"

Hikari paused before running over to the Ultra-Sonic Raider and hopping into one of the seats in the front. "Okay, if these Stone Warriors like me so much, we'll give them a distraction," Hikari mumbled. Lloyd grinned a little but said nothing as Gail was informing the citizens of the city to head to the MGTV's building.

"Stay safe. Stay out of trouble," Sensei Wu said. Misako smiled... and then her gaze moved behind him. "Looks like that won't be possible."

They turned to look- more Stone Warriors were charging up the street.

"There are more of them!" Lloyd exclaimed, sharply, glancing over his shoulder as well. The Ultra Dragon soared over, and stomped them. Lloyd pumped his fist childishly. "Yeah! Haha!"

The Ultra-Dragon landed in front of them, roaring again. Hikari jumped out of the Ultra-Sonic Raider again as Sensei Wu called, "Lloyd, have you been practicing your elemental quakes?"

Hikari slammed her hands onto the pavement full out. The ground split again, and purplish, hellish light rose as several Stone Warriors plummeted in, before she drew it shut again.

Lloyd grinned after this display. "Hey, who needs to practice when you're a natural?" He flipped out, and Hikari raised her hands, and both of them slammed down as the ground in front of the Ultra-Sonic Raider rose so high that unless you were a mountain climber, there was no way to make it up.

The ninja all scrambled into the Ultra-Sonic Raider, Hikari turning to the Ultra Dragon and Lloyd jumping onto the roof of the Ultra-Sonic Raider. "Thanks boy!" Hikari said, patting it gently on the neck before joining Lloyd, automatically wrapping her arms around him. "Now see if you can find us a way out of here!" Lloyd commented.

Shard breathed out a blast of ice, freezing several of the Warriors into place, before rising into the air. The Ultra-Sonic Raider drove up the ramp it had just created. "Good!" Lloyd shouted encouragingly.

"Now go save yourself!" Hikari shouted, waving to it as it let out an affirmative roar in return.

The Ultra-Sonic Raider blazed along the road, sending asphalt flying everywhere.

They reached the MGTV building after not too long, especially at the speed they were going, and rushed into the building. "Barricade the doors!" Cole shouted, and they carried sofas, machines, potted plants, and shoved them against the glass doors.

"Now we head to the stairway!" Zane declared, as Hikari grabbed Lloyd's hand and started pulling them there.

"Stairs?" Dareth asked, swallowing nervously. "That's twenty floors, guys, let's just take the elevator." And he pressed a button. Zane looked at him. "It's unwise to take the elevator during an emergency, Dareth," he commented. Hikari giggled a bit.

"I think I'll take my chances- WAGH!" A Stone Warrior stepped out, before stepping in a bucket of water and tripping backwards. Dareth pressed the button to shut the door and said, running back over in a panic, "HO-kay, stairs it is! Let's get climbing, everybody!"

They all kept running, although at one point Dareth tore past everyone shrieking and knocked into Misako on the way. The ninja all paused at the top of the stairs, letting everyone else run past. "We have to buy time for the civilian's escape!" Zane exclaimed. As if on cue, all of them spun into their Spinjitzu tornadoes. "NINJA-GO!"

They knocked the ones immediately there down, over the sides of the stairs, sending them back to the first floor.

"LIGHT IT UP!" Lloyd yelled, jumping down and firing light, making them all cringe. Lloyd pushed them all to the railing, and she, Lloyd, and Jay all shoved them over the railing. "Not so tough!" Lloyd yelled.

They just stood back up once they landed and roared at them. Lloyd groaned. "So tough..."

Hikari giggled, before her face went serious. "Well, all we can do now is hope we've bought enough time. GO, GO, GO!"

They all charged upstairs to the top as the Bounty sailed in to a close, all of them shouting, "Hurry, they're coming!"

Misako suddenly let out a shout. "My research!" she started running, but Lloyd grabbed his mom. "No, mom, it's too dangerous to go back!" he shouted.

Misako grabbed her son's shoulders, her wide green eyes desperate. "It's too important to leave behind." She kissed him gently on the forehead, before going back. Lloyd reached out, but then stopped and drooped.

"She'll be okay," Hikari said, her face stern. "Don't worry, Lloyd, now come on!"

They all ran aboard, and the ship started taking off. "Our only remaining booster won't last much longer!" Nya shouted, "We've got to get out of here!"

"We have to wait for my mom!" Lloyd angrily demanded. Sensei Wu blinked, before running and jumping over the side, knocking the Stone Warriors away as he charged back inside. "SENSEI!" Lloyd shouted, and Hikari wrapped her arms around. "They'll be okay," Hikari said, softly.

She shut her eyes.

 _Well, twice in one day... that really is odd, you must be desperate..._

 _ **I am... Nariko, please, please go watch Sensei and Misako for me, intervene if you absolutely HAVE to... but please, Nariko...**_

 _... if you really insist._

For once, Nariko didn't snark, and merely vanished, smoky dark strings still there, however. She probably wanted something in return. Hikari blinked as an image replaced the other side of the arena.

Misako had grabbed her scroll and was now clinging onto the side of the staircase. "Oh no..."

"What? What's going on? Hikari?" Lloyd's voice sounded distant, but Hikari focused on the image. Externally, it was a bit disconcerting. "Misako..."

"What?! What about my mom?!"

"She's... she's hanging onto the side of the staircase..."

Lloyd was shouting now, but it was still very distant... "What? How do you know?"

"I asked Nariko to go take a look... oh, there's Sensei Wu, he's running downstairs... knocked one over- ahh!" Hikari winced. "One of the Stone Warriors grabbed onto Misako's research... oh, okay, she's okay now, caught her research with her foot..."

Lloyd was staring at Hikari intently as she watched the scene intently in her mind, the ninja coming to her side. He felt his cheeks turn faintly pink, their faces were closer than they'd been ever since right after they'd had the Tomorrow's Tea...

"Oh no, I think she's slipping... Nariko can't help, and Sensei's fighting his way through the warriors," she grunted, eyes darkening, "Nariko's fighting a Stone Warrior right now... okay, she's done, she knocked him over the railing, Nariko's going to-" She let out a shriek of fear that rattled Lloyd, and he grabbed Hikari's arm so tightly he was leaving marks. "What?! What happened!?"

"She slipped-!" Hikari suddenly simultaneously let out a sigh of relief and started crying. "Oh, oh holy Spinjitzu Master, Sensei Wu caught her," she breathed in relief, and Lloyd relaxed a little, "and Nariko's helping them up... oh, and Sensei Wu's asking Nariko how she got here... she explained.. okay... oh... crap, they ran into a room on that floor to escape the Stone Army, but they're stuck... Nya, do you mind doing something?"

"Does it involve steering the Bounty?" Nya called.

"It does... here, steer down towards the middle of the building, maybe a little lower..."

"Descend!" Zane put in. She looked at them oddly.

"DO IT!"

Nya did as she asked, giving everyone an unpleasant swooping sensation in their stomachs as the Bounty soared downwards. "They're all fighting..." Hikari continued reporting, "Oh, they're using Spinjitzu... and Nariko's just throwing them out the window, make sure you're not too near, Nya..."

Nariko suddenly zipped back to her, a shadow, and Hikari shivered as she felt a sensation somewhat akin to getting a ton of water thrown on top of her. "Sheesh that's cold! Nariko-?"

"They're about to jump out the window, look up!" Nariko spoke via Hikari, Hikari's eyes flashing red, and everyone looked up to see the two of them jumping, before they landed on the Bounty. As they started flying away, however, Sensei Wu's hat fell off, and a photo of what appeared to be Misako, a pale man with dark brown hair, and Sensei Wu when he was younger- with a jolt, Hikari realized that guy in the middle was _Garmadon-_ flew out of the hat, and then was blown away in the wind.

Lloyd ran to his mother and hugged her. He then released her, pivoted, and threw his arms around Hikari tightly. "Thank you... both of you... Thank you," he chanted, over and over, hugging Hikari tightly.

Hikari smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around him, a faint pink blushing dusting her cheeks. "It's no problem."

"The past is the past, Wu," Misako said, smiling warmly. Sensei Wu smiled slightly back. "But, there's always a future." Hikari didn't dwell on it as Lloyd hugged her. They were leaving Ninjago City. But they'd be back.

Lloyd mumbled something. Hikari let go of him a little to see him bright pink in the face. "Huh? What'd you say?"

"Nothing," he responded, and Hikari blinked before waving it off.

As she went over to the two in the older generation, Lloyd's face clouded slightly as he watched her. Hikari was a lot more to him now. His longtime best friend... his teammate...

His crush.

Lloyd's face flushed seven shades of red. Where had that come from?! _No, no, no._ He shook his head to clear it, shoving that particular feeling to the back of his mind.

But as he watched her smiling encouragingly at them, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to keep that particular emotion hidden for too much longer.

 **A/N: OMG LLOKARI CONFIRMED FOR LLOYD FINALLY. And I think it's been confirmed for Hikari for, like, ever.**

 **So yeah. :)**

 **This chapter's also shorter than usual. I guess since I ignored the Serpentine + Lord Garmadon parts...? I don't know.**

 **I realized why I didn't have any reviews for Fanfiction last time. I didn't post the chapters. (slams my head on the wall) Wow. Good job, me. So, I'll be responding to the newer reviews (if any, haven't checked yet) this chapter.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: Hikari didn't exactly 'wield' it, she just held it. She didn't actually use it, so technically she didn't wield it. Yeah, since Hikari can control darkness... and the Stone Army was created from a dark force... they'll be more inclined to like her. (shrugs) They're not in a relationship, yet, so I don't know. The story doesn't deviate much... yet.**

 **Quotev:**

 **MikuthepinkNinja: 'Eyy, thanks! :)**

 **PaintedWings: (sees gif) (starts cracking up)**

 **Vi Turner: And now we see EXACTLY WHY Lloyd's jelly xD Thanks! I'm glad you like it!**

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 **None. Again. :/**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	22. Chapter 22

Lloyd was sitting by himself when Hikari came up to him. "Hey Lloyd," she said. She was wearing casual clothing, and Lloyd raised his eyebrow. "Are you headed somewhere?"

"Yeah. Everyone I want to say goodbye to that is still living is coming with me, and Sensei told me we have an hour to go do whatever we want before we have to leave," Hikari stated simply. Lloyd got to his feet. "Well, that's the case with me, too, so I'll come with you!"

Hikari blinked. "Oh...! You really don't need to, Lloyd, if you don't want-"

"No, I'll come!" Lloyd said enthusiastically. Hikari blinked as his green eyes met hers. Even though she was much taller than she'd been back then, she was still a little shorter than him. "Oh.. okay," she said finally, with the slightest smile, and the two of them started walking.

About twenty minutes later, Hikari turned right abruptly, cutting off the conversation (they'd started discussing their favorite food places in Ninjago and were both arguing about the BEST) as she continued. Lloyd looked up. The sign was weathered and old, but he could faintly make out the words:

 _Silver Valley Cemetery._

With a slight feeling of foreboding in his stomach, he followed her in. Hikari had stopped talking altogether and kept walking, her head bobbing from side to side as she did. And then she stopped walking, and Lloyd ran straight into her, almost knocking her over. His hand automatically grabbed her lower arm, and his other hand reached out to her waist and kept her steady. "Whoa, sorry," he apologized, feeling sheepish.

"No, no, it's not a problem," Hikari said, her pretty gray eyes focused elsewhere and her voice sounding very unfocused.

Lloyd followed her gaze, and his eyes widened, and his mouth opened into an inaudible 'oh'.

 _Mizuiki Tsukino  
_ _1987-2009 ( **A/N: This is based off of when the seasons actually came out. This episode was in 2012, so... yeah.)**_

 _Kazuto Tsukino  
1983-2009_

Hikari stared at the graves before placing her hand on one of the headstones, the one with Mizuiki's name on it. "... m-mum?" she asked. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

The headstone started glowing, and Lloyd felt his stomach clench nervously as a slightly purple aura rose from the ground. A woman with what appeared to be long, brown, graying hair rose from the ground, a slightly annoyed look on her face. In fact, if not for the purple aura around her and the wounds on her body, Lloyd would've said she was alive. "Who's waking me up now..." She opened her eyes, which, as far as Lloyd could tell, were brown. She met Hikari's eyes, and then went still.

"... Hikari?"

Hikari reached out with one hand, shakily. Her hands were trembling nervously, and she stopped part of the way through, as if afraid she wasn't really there. "Mum?" she repeated, softly.

The woman stepped forward. "Hikari," she repeated, and then she was hugging Hikari. It looked a bit odd, a purple-ish aura glomping Hikari, but Hikari wrapped her arms around her as well. "Mum," she repeated again, and her voice broke this time.

The woman, Hikari's mom, released her. "My little Hikari... you've grown so much," she said, and her voice was a mix of ruefulness and warmth. "And you're looking quite like your father!"

Hikari perked up. "I do?" she asked, her voice whispery. Lloyd felt as though he were intruding, so he stepped away a few times.

"Yes, you do. Almost like a picture of him," Hikari's mom confirmed, before glancing up and noticing Lloyd. "Hm? Who's that?"

"Oh! Mum, this is my friend, Lloyd Garmadon," Hikari said, dragging him back over. Mizuiki smiled warmly at him, making him smile back a little. And even though Hikari's eyes were sparkling with tears, he could tell this was one of the happiest moments of her life. "It's lovely to meet you Lloyd..."

Hikari was touching her father's headstone, and a man who _did_ look remarkably like her rose from the ground, rubbing his nose. "Goodness... I've been sleeping for quite a while..." And then his eyes lit up when he saw Hikari. "Hikari!" And he hugged her as well, the wrinkles around his eyes softening. "It's wonderful to see you... and you're perfectly okay. Takes after me," he joked slightly, and the woman hit him gently on the shoulder. "Kazu..." she said, in a stern tone.

"Mizu..." he responded, in the same tone, and he ducked away the next minute with a laugh as she swung at him, eyes flashing. "DON'T CALL ME MIZU!"

Lloyd and Hikari laughed, and Hikari's father noticed Lloyd. "Oh? Who's this? Your boyfriend?" He leaned in so that his face was practically right up next to Lloyd's. "Hm, he looks decent enough, from what I can tell. I hope he treats you well."

Hikari's face was a pomegranate. "D-dad, he-he's just my friend... we're not dating..." she mumbled, looking down at her feet in embarrassment. Lloyd felt a rush of disappointment, and he cleared his throat and looked away. "Yeah, we're just... friends."

"Best friends."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"We're not dating, no."

"He's just my best friend."

"Who's a boy."

"He can't help being a boy."

The two of them sputtered, and Mizuiki laughed warmly before punching her husband gently on the shoulder. "Darling, don't tease them, you'll make poor Hikari turn into the inside of a watermelon."

"But I like watermelon," was Kazuto's response, and he ducked another swing from Mizu as Hikari blushed. "I forgot how much you like teasing people," she responded, still blushing.

"Well, I am- or, was, I guess- only 26," Kazuto pointed out. Mizuiki rolled her eyes. "You sure? I swear you act like you're ten years old sometimes."

"As much as I would like to reminisce with you," Hikari said simply, making both of them look at her, "Lloyd and I have to get going in about ten minutes if we're going to make it back on time... so I'd better hurry and tell you, Mum, Dad, I'm a ninja..."

She explained the whole thing, much more concisely and quickly than Lloyd ever could have, and the two of them were silent. Mizuiki finally embraced her daughter. "Oh, darling, that's wonderful... you'll be able to protect everyone!"

"You're not angry?" Hikari asked, perking up.

"How could we? My daughter, being a hero. That's better than any other job description I've heard of, except your mother being a chef," Kazuto joked, and ducked another punch from his wife. "Okay, you go on your trip and defeat evil. I'm not sure I understand all of it, but... We'll be waiting right here."

"Oh, and darling, if you meet the man who killed us..."

Hikari's eyes widened. "Oh! Do you know what he looks like?"

Mizuiki grimaced, making Hikari's hopeful look fade. "Unfortunately no, we only saw his eyes. It was far too dark, and besides he caught your father by surprise and then got me, so..."

"But if you meet him," Kazuto picked up, "punch him in the nose for me, I can't punch anything worth beans here..."

The other three laughed, making him look pleased.

Hikari hugged them again. "Don't worry, I'll be back. See you soon," she said, and finally she let go and took Lloyd's hand. "Let's go," she said quietly.

The two of them left, and when Lloyd chanced a glance again Mizuiki and Kazuto were gone, with nothing but heavy mist behind them.

Hikari sniffled, drawing his attention back to her. Tears were dropping down her face, fast and heavy, and Lloyd stopped and drew her into a tight hug right there, spontaneously, on the sidewalk. "Hey, it's okay... I'll keep visiting with you, if you want, your parents are really nice."

Hikari sniffled again, teary-eyed through her wavery smile. "R-really?"

"Yeah, and you can bring the others, I'm sure they'd love to meet your parents," Lloyd said enthusiastically. Hikari looked up and Lloyd, and then buried her face in his chest. "I think I'll stay here for a bit..." she said, voice muffled.

And, true to her word, they stood there for another five minutes, Lloyd slightly guiltily taking in the fact that she smelled like violets, and Swedish Fish, which doesn't seem like it'd make a nice smell but actually did smell very nice, somewhat intoxicating, and that her hair was long and shiny and smooth and he had to resist running a hand over it, before she had to break away and the two of them had to rush back to the Bounty so they wouldn't be late.

* * *

"You two are late, I've sent my falcon," Zane commented, "we've been trying to fix the ro-" He paused and squinted at Hikari. "Hikari, have you been crying?"

"Yeah, but it's not Lloyd's fault, we went to visit my parents while we still had time," Hikari said shakily, wiping her face a little bit. A slightly awkward silence fell over the group as Lloyd gave Hikari's hand an encouraging squeeze.

"As I was saying," Nya said, "the starboard thrusters are completely destroyed, and the port thrusters are shot from the strain. So she's not getting airborne anytime soon."

Cole groaned, "So if the Stone Army attacks again, we're sitting ducks!"

"Ducks can fly, Cole. Weren't you listening?" Jay asked sardonically.

Kai crossed his arms. "We basically just got our tails handed to us. We couldn't even stop one of them!" He let out an annoyed groan. "I hate feeling helpless."

"We mustn't give up hope, Kai," Sensei Wu said quietly, and Lloyd arched his eyebrow at his uncle. "But the Stone Army is _indestructible_ ," he complained, "you saw it! At best, the most Hikari and my power could do was slow them down!"

"That's not entirely true," Misako commented, making everyone look at her, "There IS a way to defeat them- and it is told within the scrolls."

Everyone looked at each other, and then went down to where she was, entering the Bounty so the scroll wouldn't get blown away randomly. "The prophecy reveals that the power to defeat the Stone Army resides within the Green and Purple Ninja-"

"I told you," Lloyd interrupted, "I _tried_ \- I-I gave them everything I had!"

"Yes, but you two are stronger than you think," Misako spoke, encouragingly, "look, 'The true power of the Green and Purple Ninja'-"

Hikari looked down at the scroll. There was a Yin-Yang symbol on the paper, with two dragons being formed within each side, except Lloyd's side was gold rather than white with a silver eye, and Hikari's was silver with a gold eye. The four ninja were below them, sending beams of power at them.

"'The true power of the Green and Purple Ninja can only be unlocked when their elemental protectors found their own, pure, elemental powers'," Misako quoted, and Hikari snapped her fingers. "That's right, when they found their true potential I was able to use my power and the elements. Actually," and a slightly sheepish look crossed her face, "the first time I really was able to control my power on 'death' was when I found out about Zane's dad. I was able to see how he... well..." she made a slightly vague motion, looking even more awkward than before.

"Are we the protectors, then?" Cole asked, with a smile. Jay snorted. "Silly question, of course we are!" he cackled for a moment before looking at Misako for confirmation, "right?"

"If we ARE the protectors, then we're doomed," Zane said, as if stating a matter of fact, "Our elemental Golden Weapons no longer exist. We cannot tap into our elemental powers without them."

Misako chuckled a bit and said, encouragingly, "The powers DO exist, within each of you. And there IS a way to unlock the powers on your own. We must go to the Temple of Light."

"Temple of Light?" Nya spoke, before shrugging. "What's that?"

"The Gold from the Golden Weapons was from the Golden Peaks," Misako said, pulling out another scroll, "but they were _forged_ in the Temple of Light. A powerful place I thought existed only in legend.."

Hikari's bright expression turned cloudy. "Bet you guys a million bucks that that Temple is on the Dark Island," she said with a sigh.

"I think our only choice," Misako said, calmly, "is to find out."

Cole grinned, his incredibly dark brown eyes glimmering with excitement, "So we get our powers back? All right!"

"But there's still one big problem," Nya commented, "the Bounty can't fly!"

"Nya, the Dark Island is on the other side of the ocean," Hikari commented innocently, examining the scrolls carefully, "can't we just sail it?"

A silence. Hikari looked up to see the majority of the room staring at her. "... we've said this too many times... but we _really_ don't give you enough credit sometimes," Nya said finally, grinning at the teenage girl.

* * *

There were cheers as many of Ninjago City's civilians came to see them off. Or... well... all of the ones who'd made it out of the City.

"Now promise me you'll eat your vegetables," Edna was saying to her incredibly embarrassed son, who hissed, his face the shade of a basket of apples, "Mom...!"

"Oh, I mean it! You get sluggish if you don't get enough vitamins!" Edna said enthusiastically, before turning to her husband, "Ed, tell if he's gonna save the world, he has to eat his vegetables!"

Ed looked vaguely uncomfortable at his wife's demand. "Err... Do what your mother says," he said to his son, nodding to him with an awkward smile on his face.

Nearby, Lou, Cole's dad, was hugging his son tightly. "I... don't know what to say," he said softly, and Cole said, quickly, "You don't have to say anything!"

"You're right," Lou said warmly, before grinning. "I _don't_ have to say anything. But I do have to sing!"

Hikari blinked as the whole group started singing. They really were quite good, actually, especially since this was acapella...

When they finished, everyone clapped, and Cole hugged his dad again. "That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard, pop!" Hikari grinned before scanning the crowd some more.

Kai turned to Dareth nearby, smirking slightly. "Dareth, as the honorary Brown Ninja, we're trusting you in protecting Ninjago, and tending to the Ultra-Dragon," he told him, seriously, "are you up to the tasks?"

Nya was giving her brother a smirk as Dareth said, proudly, "I won't let you guys down!" He then turned to the crowd and yelled, proudly, "Did you guys hear that? I'm officially the Brown Ninja!"

He then turned back and whispered to Kai, but Hikari was staring at Lloyd now, who was talking to his mother happily, any previous grudge he might've held against her thrown to the winds.

Her best friend, teammate, confidante... crush...

 _What!_ Her face turned red the moment she realized the thought had crossed her mind. No way! She didn't have a crush on Lloyd. No, she couldn't have a crush on her best friend... so what if he was cute... and kind... and smart... and clever... and funny... and-

Hikari pulled herself up short.

No, she didn't have...

... yeah who was she kidding, she'd fallen head over heels for him.

She glanced away as he glanced at her, though, trying desperately to focus elsewhere, although she did have to smile a little at the fact that there was a crowd of fangirls cheering for Zane at one end of the dock, and she _definitely_ had to giggle when Mother Doomsday burst through the crowd of them and said, "I love ya, ya stupid Nindroid!" She was pretty sure Zane was pretty happy about that, too.

"Pupils," Sensei Wu announced, making everyone's gaze snap to him automatically, "it's time we set sail!"

"Goodbye!" Hikari said to the crowd, smiling, before getting on the ship. She didn't notice Brad Tudabone's (yes, he was there too) adoring look, or the other rather appreciative looks most of the other guys were giving her. She might not realize it, but after drinking the Tomorrow's Tea she was _quite_ pretty. And it didn't hurt that she was very kind and patient as well.

The reason she didn't notice, was partially since she was so innocent, and partially because, really, if she was being honest with herself, she really only had eyes for Lloyd.

Lloyd most certainly did, though, and he shot them all this incredibly disgruntled look that could've melted obsidian. All of the boys found somewhere else to look, and several of them developed this intense interest in the clouds.

As the Bounty started to sail away, the sails up, everyone waved goodbye, and Edna shouted suddenly to her son, "JAY! DID YOU MAKE SURE TO PACK CLEAN UNDERWEAR?"

"Yes! MOM!" Jay groaned.

Hikari excused herself to leave the deck so she could laugh.

* * *

Zane came up the stairs, a dejected air about him. Hikari turned to him, concerned. "Still no word from your falcon?" she asked, putting her hand on her hip. Her hair fluttered a little in the sea breeze, as Zane sighed. "Not yet," he said quietly.

Hikari stared at him for a moment before sighing and giving him a brief hug. "I'm sorry," she said simply, before releasing him. She didn't notice that behind her, Lloyd was almost literally turning green with envy, and he turned to stare out at the water.

Kai glanced away from Zane, and, in a rather desperate attempt to distract Zane, said, "I wonder what's on the island."

Zane perked up slightly, smiling slightly. "An entirely new ecosystem?" he suggested.

"Never before seen creatures?" Cole wondered, and Jay jumped with excitement. "Ooh! With vegetables that taste like dessert?" Hikari giggled again.

"I hope the Stone Army's there," Kai said, seriously, "they may've gotten the best of us once, but never again."

Cole grinned, pumping his fist. "You said it!"

"Hear hear!" Jay cheered loudly.

Lloyd said, a bit more gloomily, "I wonder if this is the end of our destiny."

There was a short silence, before Hikari said, "Well, if it is, I really can't think of anyone else I'd want to be with."

"Hear hear," Jay and Kai chorused, and Cole nodded. "You said it."

Zane stared off into the distance, and suddenly his eyes flashed blue with a sound. "My falcon has arrived at the Dark Island!" he exclaimed.

They ran to the bridge, where he plugged his head into the machine. It was actually a bit creepy how he did that, and Hikari often had to suppress a shudder whenever she saw him doing that. "There," he said, "now we can all see."

Hikari looked up at the screen to see what looked a bit like a jungle. A whirling sound sounded, and Zane tilted his head down, to see a small red figure in the purplish view, and something white spinning at them-

Hikari's eyes widened. "Zane, tell the falcon to move-!" she shouted, a second too late as the blade came at the falcon and static screeched over the screen.

Zane was literally sent flying backwards from the impact, the wire coming loose, and Hikari was there first, as a haunted look came into his eyes. "He's... he's gone," he said, sounding stunned.

Hikari frowned and looked at the screen. "I don't know... I don't think so. I haven't gotten that feeling. I can sense when robots die, too, Zane, and the falcon... well, it's really not giving off that feeling," she said simply, staring at the screen. She didn't have the feeling, but she also had the dread that since the falcon was less complicated than something- some _one_ like Zane... well, she might not feel it.

"He's our friend too," Kai said, comfortingly, "so we're not going to let that go. If the Stone Army wants a fight," and his amber eyes hardened. "They got one!"

"Well, that's going to have to wait," Misako interrupted, and gestured for the dark clouds that were rolling in over the deck, "because right now we're sailing straight for a storm!"

* * *

Hikari blinked through the rain as she heaved on the rope, struggling to keep the sails open. "HOLD THE LINE!" Cole yelled, although she could barely hear him. Her wet hair was slapping her back as she squinted to keep her eye on it. Kai's hair was completely wet and lost the hair gel, making him look rather like Nya, to her amusement. Lloyd's hair stuck to his face, which was a really nice look on him-

She blushed at the thought. Cole's hair was plastered to his face, and Zane's... well, Zane's was a little flattened, but otherwise nothing had really happened. The only one who wasn't completely soaked was Jay, who was hanging back.

"THE WIND'S TOO STRONG!" Lloyd bellowed, and Hikari winced as they slid a little bit. "WE NEED EVERYONE'S HELP, JAY!" Zane shouted to Jay, who was hiding in the doorway.

"But I don't want to get wet!" Jay shrieked over the wind, "I only have one pair of underwear!"

Hikari snorted and almost let go of the rope at this. Kai glared over his shoulders, his amber eyes practically glowing in the dark, "JAY THIS IS NO TIME TO BE MAKING JOKES! THE BOUNTY CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH!"

"You think I'm trying to be funny?!" Jay snapped back, when a laughing sound came over it. "Okay, laugh all you want, but don't blame me when I have to go commando!"

"Uh, we're not laughing!" Hikari shouted, feeling confused now, "I thought _you_ were the one laughing!"

Kai looked disconcerted as the high-pitched laughter seemed to surround them. "Uh, guys? Why is the sea laughing at us?"

Jay remained huddled in the doorway. "And why do I get the feeling we're not going to get the joke?" he asked, as four starfish-like creatures landed on the deck of the rocking ship.

"Hey, what's that?" Cole asked, and Hikari let go to check. All of the ninja skidded forward, and Jay ran forward. "I'm coming! I got it-" He was cut off as a huge wave enveloped the deck, soaking them all to the skin and nearly knocking Hikari over the side. Hikari picked one of the starfish up. "It looks like some kind of... fish..."

As she flipped it over, she saw it had teeth in a round mouth that was contracting and releasing in the air. Hikari let out a shriek and threw it over the side. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE FIRST SPINJITZU IS THAT?!" she shrieked.

Misako fled down a nearby staircase, "We must not let the Starteeth on board!" she ordered, "they devour ships, and they won't stop until we sink!"

Hikari grabbed a few more, which came loose with a sucking sound, and hurled them overboard. "I'll try to get on it!" she said, but one hopped onto the rope the ninja were holding, before the rope broke, and the ship rocked to one side. Hikari yelped as she grabbed the railing and more Starteeth were thrown on board.

"Get these things off the ship!" Kai yelled, and Hikari booted one overboard, only to find another one was biting her. "Ow!" she yelped, and smacked it, it came off her leg and she threw it overboard with all her strength.

"Get off of there! Jay yelled as the other ninja booted them off, and then "GAH!" Hikari looked to see four Starteeth gnawing his back, and Hikari shrieked, "Um, USE YOUR SPINJITZU!"

Jay did that, but ended throwing the Starteeth on the sail. Hikari winced. "Okay, bad idea," she mumbled, before Spinjitzuing across the deck with the others and knocking them back overboard.

"They eat through metal, too!?" Jay yelped as he picked some off of a chain and tossed them overboard.

Hikari groaned. "Guys, we have a bigger problem!"

Everyone leaned over to see what Hikari was looking at, to see Starteeth gnawing a hole in the front of the ship.

The ship suddenly rocked, and Hikari, who was a bit off guard, was nearly thrown into the water. "AHH!" she screamed, and a hand lunged and caught hers, and she quickly wrapped her hands around Lloyd's arm. "DON'T LET GO!" he yelled over the crashing waves, howling wind, and thunder.

"I'M TRYING, I'M TRYING!" Hikari screamed desperately, feeling the ocean spray sting her already-soaked skin as she held Lloyd's slippery, wet hand...

The ship rocked the other way, throwing Hikari back on deck right into Lloyd. She hugged him, the two of them holding each other as they panted, before Hikari's face turned red. "Oh, um... thanks," she breathed.

"N-no problem," Lloyd responded, moving away a bit. Hikari wiped her wet face with her wet sleeve, and succeeding in rubbing a little salt into her eyes.

The next morning rose, Hikari's hair still completely soaked- in fact, everyone was still rather damp, but had changed into drier clothing, so they felt more damp than soaking. Kai's hair was floppy and limp rather than in its usually spiky form, since he'd attempted to use gel on damp hair and succeeded in making the spikes, but they were limp. It looked a little flat, actually.

Hikari and the others were belowdeck, trying to bail water out of the lower deck, which had a good five inches of water inside. It was a miracle the ship hadn't sunk by now.

Hikari wiped her face before bailing some more water out the side, nearly splashing Lloyd in the process. He smirked at her. "Hey, be careful, you nearly drenched me."

"Not that you need it," she teased, and at that he grabbed her and gave her a noogie, before releasing her with a bemused look. "Your hair is still wet..."

Hikari wrung it out a little. "Haven't had time to dry it properly."

Lloyd took off his ninja mask, which he wasn't using, and handed it to her. "You can use it to dry your hair," he said simply.

Hikari flushed pink and tried to push it back to him. "Oh-! No, this is your mask, Lloyd, I really, really don't need-"

"I insist," he said, pressing it into her hands with a warm smile.

Hikari smiled slightly and went over to Misako, after a moment of silence. "You have a gentleman for a son!" she said, smiling as she carefully started to rub her hair dry.

"Yes... how long have you two been friends?" Misako asked, holding her scrolls.

Hikari shrugged. "About three years. He's really very nice, when you get to know him," she said, with a small smile, "big softy."

"I am NOT a softy," Lloyd said loudly as Hikari continued to pat her hair dry, making her giggle and Misako chuckle softly. "And... do you like him?" Misako added, more quietly than before.

Hikari gave her a funny look as she kept rubbing her hair dry. "Of course I like him. Why would I be friends-"

"No, no, the other... the other sort of like," Misako said, even more quietly. Hikari felt her cheeks pink, and she paused in rubbing her hair dry. "Well, ever since I got older, every time I look at Lloyd it feels like the zoo released their entire insect exhibit in my stomach," she remarked, making Misako chuckle again.

"That's natural... I think," Misako said as Hikari kept glancing at Lloyd with her pink cheeks. "So you like him?"

"Is that weird?" Hikari said with a grimace, "or do you not approve or something?"

"Quite the contrary, my son's allowed to do what he wants," Misako said warmly, "and you've been friends for a while, it's not odd at all."

"If you say so," Hikari responded, blushing again to the point where she looked like a pomegranate and giving the now rather damp mask over to Lloyd. "Here you go, Lloyd, my hair's more dry now..."

Misako just smiled mysteriously.

"Oh, this is hopeless!" Kai groaned loudly, "with no rudder, we've been drifting aimlessly, we'll never get to the Dark Island!" he picked up another bucket of water and bailed it out the side.

"We only know what is foretold will happen, not WHEN it will happen," Misako said simply, when suddenly Zane's bucket clanked to the floor. "What is it, Zane?" Sensei Wu asked as Zane turned and headed for the opening in the side.

"I sense something," Zane said, almost matter of factly, before checking outside. Hikari went over to Lloyd as he looked, and Cole asked, sounding hopeful, "Is it the falcon?"

Jay stepped forward, eyes wide, "Is he alright?"

"No, it's..." Zane looked outside, and then stiffened. "Something else, BRACE YOURSELVES!"

As he shouted this, the Bounty let out a groan as it crashed into some rocks and sand, making everyone stagger and Hikari fall. She yelped as a pair of arms caught her, and opened them to see Lloyd supporting her. "Oh, th-thanks," she asked, offering his offer to help her back up. Lloyd smiled at her slightly, "It's no problem..."

Jay coughed something that sounded suspiciously like 'Ishipit' from where he was standing, and they walked out onto the beach they'd crashed onto, to see a tall tower built out of stone. "Who would build a lighthouse way out here?" Lloyd asked, his eyebrow crinkling.

"It's not a lighthouse," Zane said simply, "it's a prison."

They were quite a good way above the ground when a sort of watery growl rumbled, making everyone look behind them at the ocean. "I should've brought an extra pair of underwear," Jay whimpered.

Sensei Wu's brow furrowed. "Mysterious... we'd better keep going!"

And they continued up the stairs up to a door, where a camera whirred to life. "Uh, should we smile?" Jay joked as it whirred, seeming to look at them.

The sound of the door unlocking sounded as Zane looked down, and an old man with completely white hair, a wrinkled face, glasses, and a facial structure that looked relatively similar to Zane's stepped out...

Hikari's eyes widened as he shouted, "Zane! Is that really you?!" He stepped forward and hugged Zane tightly, "You found me!"

"Hikari, is something wrong?" Lloyd asked. Hikari had taken a step back, her eyes flickering purple. "But- bu- how- you- you're supposed to be dead!" she blurted out, shocked.

The next moment she clapped her hands over her mouth, her cheeks pink. "Oh my god, that sounded _so_ rude, I am _so sorry_ -!"

"Not at all," the man said, grinning, as Lloyd gave Hikari an odd look. "Do you know him?"

"Sort of," Hikari said, her voice odd, "that's Zane's... father, creator... whatever you think is correct," she said, her voice oddly high-pitched now.

Zane's eyes widened. "But...! How is that...! My memory tells me you have passed!" Zane exclaimed, "and Hikari's sense says so as well-!"

"Ah, so you found your memory switch," Zane's father said fondly, before a low roar came from the water again. His face went more serious. "Hurry! It can't know that you're here, or else there'll be dues to pay!"

"It?" Jay asked, having turned a funny shade of green. "I'll explain everything inside, including why it is you two thought I was dead."

The entire group flooded inside quickly, eager to escape whatever was in the ocean.

* * *

Zane's father locked the door and put a bar in front of the door. "Locking... barricading... checking... whew, I think we're safe," he said, sounding relieved, "this way." Hikari was happy to see him put an arm around his son, and happy to see Zane smiling brighter than ever.

At the top of the stairs, they found a brightly lit room, as Zane's father said, courteously, "Please, please, have a seat, you must be thirsty!"

Zane smiled. "Seat...? Where?"

Zane's father pushed a lever, and the huge light in the room disappeared to reveal a table with seats on all ends of it. "There, of course!" he said, as if it were natural for something like that to just pop out of the floor.

Hikari seated herself next to Lloyd as Cole said, "Huh, a technical wizard!" cheerfully.

Jay, thinking no one noticed, stole a pair of trunks off the clothing line that hung from the ceiling, and snuck off. Hikari resisted the urge to dive under the table.

Another button was pressed as a little robot whirred out from underneath where the button was pressed, holding teacups. It then hopped onto the table and neatly put teacups on the table. Hikari's eyes lit up. "Aww, it's cute!" she remarked, and Lloyd grinned. "Of course, THAT'S what you notice."

"And pray tell," Hikari said in a very lofty voice, "what is so bad about that?"

"Nothing, it's just that you seem to notice cuteness even when it's less cute than you are."

Both of them stiffened, cheeks red. Lloyd rubbed his head and chuckled. "B-by which I mean because, since, you know, you were a pretty cute kid, and you- you, um, you look a lot like you did when you were a kid."

Hikari relaxed, her cheeks still pink. "Oh. Okay. If that's all," she said.

Both of them glanced at each other. Neither of them were really aware that the other had the crush on the other, because they were holding out to see if the other had a crush on the other. It was easy to read the situation, and Kai gently banged his head on the table in frustration.

"They should really just kiss already," Jay whispered to Nya, who giggled a bit.

The robot came back around with a teapot and started pouring tea into each cup. Jay tried to play with it by shifting the cup so the robot couldn't pour the tea, although it backfired when the robot poured hot tea right onto his pants. He roared in pain and jumped up, making everyone laugh as he leapt around in pain.

"Father, I don't understand," Zane said, after the laughter had died down, "I saw you pass!"

"Yes you did," Zane's father agreed, "and I tell you, I thought I was kaput! But as you know, in Ninjago, the past is the past..."

"And the future," Misako began to finish, and Sensei Wu finished, "is the future."

"Yes," Zane's father nodded, "but after I turned off your memory switch, what you DIDN'T see, was bonehead Samukai reviving me with a special elixir. He wanted me to create state-of-the-art war machines for their army! But I refused. So, they brought me here and left me with a box of my tools. He said if I didn't, then I would never be able to see my son again. And to make sure I didn't escape, he chained a Leviathan to keep guard."

Hikari's eyes widened. "Is that what we heard in the ocean?" she asked, sounding concerned, as she sipped some tea.

Zane's father nodded confirmation. "Yes... when Samukai didn't return, I thought I'd never see you again," and he looked at his son, "but as so much time has passed, I started to question whether you would WANT to see me again. I was afraid... if you found out what horrible things I'd created, you would think I was a..." He hesitated. "A monster."

Zane stepped closer to his father. "We will get you out of here, father," he said, "now that we are together, perhaps we can invent a way off this rock."

Jay perked up. "Could you repair the rocket boosters on our ship?"

Zane's father walked over to the window to see the Bounty. "That sailing ship has rocket boosters?!" he asked, sounding rather thrilled, as Nya approached. "Well... the rotors and gears are shot..."

Zane's father waved that off with a grin. "Ah, pish posh! No matter! I'll have your ship seaworthy by dawn!"

Another watery growl, and the building began to shake. "It's an earthquake!" Kai exclaimed, and Hikari shook her head. "No, THAT would be the Leviathan," she said, as a tentacle rose from the water.

"It's here! Everyone, hide!" Zane's father hissed, and Hikari automatically dove underneath the table, as everyone scattered. Jay climbed into the rafters, Misako and Wu rushed down the stairs, Lloyd and Kai jumped into the rafters, Nya hid behind a shelf, and Zane's dad sat at the table. Cole hid in a shadow, turning his back to the window.

Hikari pressed herself into the floor and curled up into the smallest ball she could, before clenching her fist. "C'mon... I can control the darkness enough..." she mumbled.

As her fist glowed a dark color of purple, a shadow fell over her, and made her look like a shadow.

 _See how helpful the darkness is, Hikari? You can let me help! Let me help, and_ _you will never need to worry again._

 ** _Not really in the mood,_ _Nariko._**

 _I'm hurt! C'mon, it can't hurt. Let me take over, and you won't have to worry..._

 _ **I said, no.**_

As Hikari argued with herself, she barely noticed Zane's father conversing with the Leviathan cheerfully, as if he were happy to see it.

 _Oh come on, what are you fighting me for? Those boys who call you their friends? That girl who hardly talks to you? The old man and woman who only wish to use you as a tool to destroy your real friends? Or maybe, the boy who can control the light? Is that what you're fighting for?_

 _ **No... I told you, get out.**_

 _Hmm... shame, I don't really want to._

 ** _Get. Out._**

 _How about... no?_

Lloyd came out from the rafters. "Hikari-?" he froze when he saw the girl, and yanked her out from under the table. Everyone let out a gasp. Hikari was starting to dissolve into dark smoke, and was covered with it. Her eyes were flickering from purple to gray to red to purple again, and her expression was blank.

 _I don't think you're really trying to save the others. No, I think you just want to hold back your powers because you're SCARED. But what did they ever do for you?_

"Hikari..."

Hikari heard a faint sound, and she focused on that, blocking out Nariko's persuasive croon.

"Hikari! Are you... you there?"

It was coming in and out of focus, like a badly tuned radio.

"Hikari!"

Hikari blinked, and the arena was gone, and she was staring into a pair of concerned green eyes. Lloyd let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god you're okay..."

Hikari sat up, blinking. "Was something happening?"

"Yeah, you were kinda dissolving this dark smoke..."

Hikari looked down at herself, watching her fingers solidify back into their smooth, creamy, normal form. "... I see," she said, quietly.

"What happened?"

Hikari stood up, looking at him oddly. "... nothing," she said finally. "I just... drifted off, I guess."

She turned away before he could question her too much, as Kai said, awkwardly, "Well, if we're going to make something to get out of here, we better do it fast, before _it_ gets back."

The rest of the afternoon was spent sewing (more on Hikari and Lloyd's part), building, and drawing out diagrams. Lloyd and Hikari glanced at Cole as they sewed, who was whistling.

"What?!" Cole demanded, "it's catchy!"

Dusk finally fell, and everyone had just eaten one of Zane's meals. Hikari sat next to Lloyd, leaning back on his chest. "Hmm, I can't believe we've gotten this far..."

"How do you mean?"

"Well... one year ago, you'd just gotten kicked out of Darkley's, we'd met the ninja, and you released the Serpentine... and now look, we're off to go fight evil!" Hikari said a bit dreamily.

Lloyd chuckled, looking at the way her hair reflected the light. "I guess that's true..."

"You guess? It is true, you knuckle head," Hikari said, chuckling softly as the two of them stared at the ceiling dazedly. "Not to mention, we found out that I can control death and darkness and destruction..."

"I still can't believe it."

"Why's that?"

"You're just... I dunno... nice," he said. Hikari smirked a little. "Wow. Wonderful reason."

"Oh, shut up," and he gently bopped her on the head with his fist. Hikari chuckled and the two of them lapsed into a both comfortable and awkward silence. Comfortable because they were such good friends, awkward because both of them secretly hoped that they could be MORE than friends.

Hikari finally looked up at him, twisting her head to look at him. "You know, you whispered something back when we were leaving, what was it? I didn't catch it."

"..." Truth be told, Lloyd had red-facedly mumbled that he loved Hikari very quietly to her, but she hadn't caught it, and it'd just slipped out. "That... I... love... the way you're really helpful," he said, awkwardly. It was not a complete lie, if not the whole truth.

"Oh," Hikari said simply and rather casually, "was that it?"

She turned away, looking away now. She'd been hoping that when he'd paused on love that he'd say 'you', but he hadn't. She blushed at the hopeful thought and waved that away.

A huge roar suddenly sounded, and Hikari jolted upright, eyes wide. The two of them trailed after Zane and his father, his dad shouting, "Hurry and get on board! It's coming!"

They'd added a sort of 'blimp' component to the ship, and now everyone climbed on board as a huge tentacle emerged from the water. Then two... then three!

"It's here!" Kai yelled as Hikari grabbed Lloyd's hand and blasted the both of them with a huge, ghostly, fire blast onto the ship. They rolled a bit, but managed to get back to their feet as everyone sprinted aboard.

"Get us out of here, Nya!" Jay yelled to his girlfriend, who ran to the bridge. "I hope she's ready!"

The ship rose out of the water, and nearly escaped, when several tentacles clung to the blimp part, keeping them from taking off. Everyone slid backwards as the ship started descending back towards the water.

"Lloyd, Hikari, use your elemental powers!" Sensei Wu ordered, and the both of them struggled to their feet, before throwing out a huge glowing, pulsing shield that the Leviathan released. They began to take off again, when they now drew taut on the ship again.

Zane was looking over the railing, and shouted, "It's chained!"

He hesitated, before climbing onto the railing. His father shouted, worried, "Zane! What are you doing!?"

"The Leviathan won't let us leave. I think I know a way I can help!" he shouted.

Zane's father practically sprinted over. "But you _can't jump in!_ These oceans are filled with Starteeth!" he sputtered. Zane looked at his father. "I know."

And he leapt into the water below.

"ZANE!" His father shouted.

Hikari put her hands together, worried, as the ship began began to sink to the pint where the back end was submerging. A hand attached to the railing, unbeknownst to everyone else, as the chain suddenly snapped, and the Leviathan let go.

"What happened?" Zane's father asked, and Lloyd ran over to help him. "Zane released the Leviathan, and now it's letting us go!"

"But where is my son?"

"Right there," Hikari said softly, and pointed to a soaking wet Zane emerging from over the railing. The two of them hugged again, as Zane's father said, in relief, "Zane!"

Sensei Wu tilted his head a little. "How did you know that if you freed it from captivity, it would let us go?"

Hikari smiled as Zane said, "Because no one deserves to be held captive. Not even a monster."

Everyone looked as one tentacle, with the three eyes, blinked, before sinking back into the water and swimming away with small waves surrounding it.

"Farewell, creature from the sea," Zane said calmly, "enjoy your freedom."

And finally, they blasted off for the Dark Island.

 **A/N: Wow, this is the longest chapter so far, and it's not even one of the final chapters! We meet Hikari's parents.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: Cool, good to know.**

 **Shelly Marsh: Now you know what Lloyd whispered :) and glad to see Llokari is your OTP five-ever. And the 'love epiphany' xD Nice fun fact, btw.**

 **Michelle Rita: Hehe, glad to see you notice my incredibly (obvious) subtle (xD) relationship. And thanks, I didn't know how I'd make it work, but I did. xD Also that's actually how I made her name, because of that saying and lots of translation sites.**

 **Quotev:**

 **Luna the Eevee: Haha, glad to see you liked Lloyd's admission.**

 **MikuthepinkNinja: Coolio :)**

 **cookiecat567: That would be cool, actually :)**

 **Wattpad:**

 **Cristal Hillman: Hey, thanks!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	23. Chapter 23

"This whole island is swarming with Garmadon's indestructible Stone Army," Kai complained, as the others worked.

Jay chuckled a bit. "Ha! Good thing we're ninja and we know how to hide."

Cole grumbled and threw down a shovel, making Hikari start a bit from where she was digging. "Who wants to hide when you can fight?! I'm tired of having our hands buried in the sand. I wanna fight these guys!" he snapped. If any outburst was to come from the ninja, Hikari would've actually expected it from KAI, not Cole. He was much more level-headed than this, usually.

"But, it would be unwise to start a fight we cannot finish," Zane remarked, looking at Cole, and Sensei Wu said, making Hikari actually drop her shovel in surprise, "THAT, is why we must find, the Temple of Light."

Back inside the Bounty, Misako opened another scroll and said, calmly, "The scrolls say that there is a hidden temple on the island. If we find it, it will give the ninja pure elemental powers. Powers that can destroy the indestructible army."

"So you're saying we get to fight! Ooh, I've got happy feet!" Cole burst out and threw his arms up into the air, making Hikari giggle a bit. "And you two," Misako said, now directing her attention to Hikari and Lloyd, who looked up at her, "here, it is written, 'for once the Green and Purple Ninja find the instrument of peace, they will strike it, and gain the power of the Ultimate Spinjitzu Masters.'"

"'Ultimate Spinjitzu Master'? JINX!" they both yelled simulataneously at one another, and Misako chuckled at the interaction before clarifying, "It means you will be to invoke the power of the Golden and Silver Dragons, ancient fighting styles practiced only by the First Spinjitzu Master."

The other ninja stared openmouthed at the two, and Lloyd grinned and laughed, "Ha! Jealous?" at the ninja.

Hikari gently punched her friend on the shoulder. "Lloyd, do _not_ tease your friends... except for me," she joked, and Lloyd wiggled his fingers. "Well, then I get to tickle you," he said, and Hikari's face went dead serious."Lloyd. Montgomery. Garmadon. Don't you _dare_ ," she said, seriously.

And then Lloyd snorted, and Hikari giggled as well.

"Wait, this all sounds too good to be true," Kai suddenly spoke up over the two teenagers, "... what's the catch?"

"The catch is," Sensei Wu spoke up, "the Temple could be anywhere on the island. And all we have to find it is this."

Zane's father (who everyone had learned liked to be called 'Dr. Julien) took what looked remarkably like a large coin with holes in it. "A medallion! It's like a compass. When the three holes match up, the medallion will reveal where the temple is hidden," he said.

"Uh, how'd you know that?" Jay asked, looking confused from his end of the table.

Dr. Julien shrugged a bit with a grin on his wizened face. "Oh, I did a lot of reading in my spare time. Hehe, adventure stories were my favorite."

"Mine too!" Hikari said enthusiastically, waving a bit from where she and Lloyd were sitting.

Zane took the medallion, which looked quite tarnished and old. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Lloyd and Hikari stood up simultaneously, but Sensei Wu shook his head. "Not you two."

"Aw, seriously?" Lloyd groaned, looking disgruntled, "are we _still_ doing this?"

"Wu is right," Misako put in, "if you were to come across your father, it could prematurely start the Final Battle. We need to be at full strength before we take any risks."

Jay snickered. "Ha! Jealous?"

Lloyd glared at Jay but then glanced at Hikari as she spoke serenely, "Not really. Nariko?" Hikari opened her mouth as a dark, smoky silhouette stepped out of it, landing in front of her. She was exactly Hikari's build, and the only thing any of them could see clearly of her was her glowing, ruby-red eyes. " _Yes?_ " she asked, mock-sweetly.

"Please accompany the ninja on their trip to go find the Temple of Light," Hikari requested simply, smiling slightly at the girl.

Nariko arched her eyebrow and crossed her arms. " _And what do_ I _get out of this?_ "

Hikari rolled her eyes, which was one of the first times they'd seen her do so. "We can decide that when you get back. Just, please go. Maybe you'll learn something about the ninja. Maybe you'll like them."

" _Doubtful,_ " the shadow said, slightly arrogantly, but sighed and moved over to them anyway. " _Oh, fine. Anyway, you'll be able to keep track of what we're doing... maybe spend time with your boyfriend,"_ Nariko smirked.

Hikari blinked at the last part. "I don't- NARIKO SERIOUSLY?!" Nariko ducked under one of the plastic teacups Hikari chucked at her, cackling wildly.

Lloyd blinked at Hikari's bright pink face. "My gosh, just go!" she snapped at the shadow, blushing, and Nariko bowed sarcastically. " _Why of course, o master,_ " she spoke, sardonically. Hikari rolled her eyes again and looked at Lloyd, with a sheepish little grin. He returned it.

"Well, while Hikari keeps track of the ninja, I could use your help, Lloyd. We should make some vehicles that might give us a fighting chance!" Dr. Julien said.

"Remember," Sensei Wu told the ninja (and Nariko), "Garmadon doesn't know you're on the island. It is _imperative_ that you stay out of sight."

"Of course, Sensei, don't worry!" Jay said confidently, "have you ever known us to veer from a plan? Huh?"

Hikari ducked under the table. They could hear muffled laughter. Nariko squirmed, chuckling slightly. " _Hikari, would you stop that! Every time you laugh I feel like I'm being tickled quite relentlessly,_ " she snapped but her voice was filled with amusement.

"NINJA-" all the ninja started, Hikari stopping her giggling to peek out over the table, and Sensei Wu hushed them, "Shhhh! Not so loud! Are you trying to get us caught?!"

"Go," the ninja whispered.

Hikari and Nariko snickered in sync.

* * *

Nariko casually filed her nails as Jay whispered, on a rock about twenty feet away from a huge area blocked off by huge wooden spikes, "This must be Garmadon's camp!"

"No, ya think?!" Kai said, sarcastically. "I thought it was a take-out restaurant!"

Nariko smirked as she kept filing her nails. " _Ooh, I like you!_ " she exclaimed, sounding relatively pleased, " _you're nice and sarcastic_."

Kai glanced at her before glancing back at the camp, a little smile under his mask. "Looks like he's building something."

"But what?!" Jay exclaimed.

Cole glared at both of them. "Quiet, you bozos! We still need to find what the medallion matches up to!"

Zane took the medallion from Cole. "Let me see," he said, and then looked through it. "Nothing matches up... wait!"

Jay gasped and snatched it from him without any permission. "You found the Temple of Light?!"

"No, but look!"

Nariko put the file away and glanced in the direction he was pointing. " _Isn't that that falcon Hikari mentioned that you lost the other day?_ " she asked lazily.

"Yeah, I thought it got shot down and was lost," Kai said, and Zane stood up, silver eyes gleaming with excitement. "Not if I can retrieve it and get the pieces back to my father!" he exclaimed.

Cole looked up at Zane. "Wait, Zane! You're veering from the plan! We're supposed to be finding the Temple of Light and staying out of sight!" he hissed.

Nariko shook her head. " _If that's to avoid them finding out that you're here, I don't think sitting on a rock in plain sight of the camp if any bozo happens to look up is really helpful,_ " she remarked sardonically.

"If I were in there, you'd do the same," Zane pointed out. "I have to get my friend back!" And he jumped over the fence and into the compound. Cole was about to follow, before Nariko snorted. " _The more of you pajama-wearing people jump in there with your very lovely outfits, the more of you are going to get caught. I think you should just stay here with moi and hope he doesn't get spotted. He's quiet. I'm sure he won't be spotted,_ " she added, a little more nicely at the end.

Cole groaned, "I wanna fight...!"

Nariko stood up now, squinting. _"Well, then wait. You'll get your wish soon enough,"_ she said impatiently. " _Now hush so I can keep an eye on your friend."_

* * *

Hikari opened her eyes and frowned. She glanced over to where the others were working, sitting in a more meditative position helped her pay attention to what was going on better, though it did strain her legs a bit.

Lloyd saw her looking, and she waved a little bit, before going back to her meditative state.

Lloyd sighed, staring at her while she wasn't looking, before jumping down to where his mother was. Sensei Wu had just gone off to go fetch creekwater to keep working on the machine. "How did you meet him?"

"Who? Sensei Wu?" Misako asked, still staring after Lloyd's uncle. Lloyd looked at the floor- well, the sand, quietly. "No. My father," he said, a bit more flatly than he'd intended to.

Misako turned to him and sighed, the slightly dreamy look on her face fading. "You know, he wasn't always like how he is today," she said, automatically putting her arm around her son, "It took years for his poisoned heart to turn him evil. There was a time, when I loved him very much, and he was very proud."

Lloyd blinked, this was a bit of news to him. "When was that?" he asked.

She smiled and drew him into a hug. "When we had you."

Lloyd felt his lips tug up into a smile, and hugged her back.

When he finally released her, Misako said, with a sigh, "You and Hikari seem to get along very well."

"Yeah," Lloyd agreed, a little on guard now, "she's really nice..."

"And kind..."

"Yeah, and kind..."

"And she's quite a lovely young woman," Misako added, a mischievous spark flickering to life in her green eyes. Lloyd whipped to face her. "M-mom!" he whispered in embarrassment, his cheeks flushing. Misako chuckled. "I'm sorry... but it's a little obvious, son."

"It is?" he asked, and when Misako nodded, he crossed his arms. "Well Hikari doesn't notice," Lloyd grumbled, his cheeks still pink.

Misako chuckled. "She will, son. From what I can tell of her, she's very innocent. It's no wonder that she doesn't notice when others look at her as such." She hesitated; telling Lloyd about the fact that Hikari returned his crush seemed wrong when Hikari seemed to expect her not to tell him seemed wrong, so she simply said, "I think she'll notice you soon."

Lloyd crossed his arms a little, blushing in Hikari's direction. "Well I hope she does..." he mumbled quietly.

* * *

"I spy, uh..." Jay said, as Kai and Cole dutifully watched the camp.

" _Let me guess,"_ Nariko remarked sarcastically, "it's another tree."

Cole groaned and glanced his shoulder at the blue ninja. "Jay, how did you _ever_ become a ninja? Seriously!"

Kai let out a groan of his own, and Nariko rolled her eyes. " _Getting impatient, aren't we?_ "

"Would Zane just get his bird already and get out of there!?" he snapped in frustration. " _Certainly,"_ Nariko stated, " _if you don't mind him getting caught by our lovely friends the Stone Army here and alerting Garmadon and the Overlord himself to your predicament._ "

"Judging by how Hikari and you interact, I thought you were trying to turn her to the dark side," Cole remarked.

" _I am, but I want HER to take over Ninjago and rule it using the dark side, not some random ugly blob that floats and sounds like Darth Vader gargling mud or a black-skinned, four-armed delusional madman who makes horrible plans,"_ Nariko responded, " _so even if I try to convince her to turn to the other side I want her way to take over clear._ "

"... that's... a good reason?" Kai said, sounding very unsure about that.

Jay picked up the medallion randomly and kept looking around, when he suddenly spoke, "Guys! Look!" He handed the medallion to Kai, who held it up to where he was looking. The top of one mountain, and the two right next to it, with the sun starting to set, shot light through the holes, and Kai exclaimed, "It matches up! That must be the Temple of Light!"

Nariko smirked at Jay. " _Not bad, bluebird."_

"Why am I bluebird?" he asked her, confused.

" _Simple- you are wearing blue, and your name is Jay. Hence, you are bluebird. Kind of like how Cole is 'Naughty' because of the fact you get black coal for Christmas if you are naughty and Kai is 'Firefly' because he can control fire. And I think he could use his fire to fly if he really wanted to. Zane is Snowflake,"_ Nariko remarked. " _Lloyd is Green Lantern. Hikari is Hikari because she is one of the few people I respect."_

Cole blinked at her before waving off the weird nicknaming system. "Okay... anyway, Jay, I take back everything I said! You are a fine ninja! Not... finer than me, but a fine..."

"NINJA!" bellowed a Stone Warrior.

Nariko sighed lazily and looked down. " _I believe it is safe to say that Snowflake there has been spotted,"_ she remarked simply.

"Okay, that's it, I'm fighting!" Cole snapped. "We can't- if we do, they'll know we're here too. And they're indestructible," Kai retorted.

Cole jumped down onto a column of rock several feet away. "Yeah, and if we don't, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives!"

" _I do get the feeling Hikari would like me to save one of her friends,_ " Nariko said lazily, following him, " _so if you two want to stay up here, fine by us, be our guest."_

Kai and Jay exchanged a look before following the two of them.

A minute later, a large vehicle blazed in, knocking the Stone Army that was surrounding Zane away. Zane stared at them in shock. Nariko rolled her eyes. " _What in the name of the First Spinjitzu Master are you waiting for, Snowflake? A red carpet?_ " she asked, sarcastically.

Zane shook his head a little and followed them, as the Stone Army started following. "You know when Sensei told us to stay out of sight?" Cole shouted.

"Yeah. That was a good idea," Jay said, as spears thudded into the opposite wall.

"Why didn't we listen to him?!" Jay bemoaned. Zane added, "Why don't we EVER listen to him?!"

" _Because you are all very idiotic, that's why. OI! Stupid rocks!"_ Nariko shouted, " _Can't catch me!"_ she made a grotesque, taunting face. All of the Stone Army started focusing on her, and she glanced at the four of them and jerked her head at the gate. They all started to thunder over the bridge, but stopped halfway there.

Nariko glowered at them as she followed (by them, she meant the Stone Army). " _Well bloody hell then,"_ she grumbled, disgruntled. She then blinked. " _Hey... guys, these things are strong enough to break through the pavement back in Ninjago, right?"_

The ninja all nodded, and then Zane blinked. "Oh..."

Nariko smirked. " _You got what I'm thinking about? Ooh, you're smarter than I thought."_

Zane nodded. "Yes. I got us into this mess. I know how to get us out."

More and more of the Stone Army came forward, and then the entire bridge broke all of a sudden.

"Grab a plank!" he shouted, and Nariko grabbed onto Kai, the nearest person. "NINJA-GO!" The Spinjitzu tornadoes formed, and Nariko clung to Kai and a plank(who tried to ignore the icy feeling in his stomach) as they all flew into the air, onto a structure, and then started to pretty much skateboard on the leafy canopies of the trees.

Nariko was forced to grab onto Kai as they used their hoods as parachutes, before their feet slammed into the floor. " _Well, it was nice speaking with you all,"_ Nariko grudgingly admitted, " _but I'm afraid I should get back to Hikari. I'll see you!_ " And she vanished in a whip-crack of black smoke.

* * *

Hikari jolted a bit, as Zane's father remarked, "Hey! They found the falcon!"

"Why are they running?" Lloyd asked.

"Prepare for battle!" Zane said, as he placed the falcon on a table. Sensei Wu started. "You were spotted by one? Two?" he asked, seriously.

"Try all of them," Hikari remarked with a groan, before perking up a little bit, "but, on the bright side, Jay located the Temple of Light!"

"It's at the top of the mountain," Kai agreed, "I hope those vehicles are ready, 'cause we could sure use them now!"

Dr. Julien led them back to a sort of drill-car-thing. "I guess you'll have to figure this baby out on the fly."

"We've also packed another surprise in the back," Nya said to her boyfriend, "maybe it can be of use?"

The two of them kissed on the lips. Hikari glanced back at Lloyd, for a moment, trying to imagine how that would feel-

She felt her cheeks flush again, and climbed into the vehicle with Lloyd. Kai glanced at the two, and moved into the front seat with Cole. "Scoot over Cole, don't be a seat hog," he remarked.

"Whatever you do," Sensei Wu spoke, "do not stop until you get to the Temple of Light. Our survival depends on it."

Kai smiled at Sensei, a little sheepishly. "This time, we'll stick to the plan."

The windshield slid over them, and Sensei Wu said, quietly, "Good luck, ninja."

They pulled out of the area they'd been hiding in and puttered off, the engine roaring slightly as Cole put on a slight burst of speed. A moment after they passed, a few more vehicles, of the Stone Army's, followed them, roaring out of the trees and knocking a couple down.

Cole turned the wheel, veering through a huge maze of stone columns, as two of the other vehicles veered in front of them. Cole jerked the wheel again, making them all lurch sideways as he veered around and drove onto an impromptu stone ramp, sailing right for the third vehicle.

Cole shifted a lever, and the drill whirred to life and plunged straight into the dirt, before exploding back out right next to the mountain. "Well, that's as far as I think this baby'll go. The rest we'll have to do on our own."

Lloyd groaned. "But we'll never make it out of the mountain before they arrive!"

Kai jumped out of the drill, running towards the back. "Well, then let's see what my sister packed."

He pressed the button, and it spat out a large, red thing, that landed on the sand, before unfolding, shifting open, and doing a various amount of mechanical things before revealing itself to be a big red robot.

Kai clapped a little, grinning. "Aw, I love my sis!"

Hikari laughed a little at this, and Lloyd gave her a little look before Kai jumped into the the 'driver's seat' and went to face the Stone Army's vehicles.

"Let me handle this." He jumped over to the vehicle and spun it around before releasing it and throwing it into the trees, charged and the vehicles, and and smashed the other, smaller vehicles out of the way, before rushing back over to where they were standing.

More of the vehicles pulled up, and Jay frowned. "These guys just won't stop!"

"No, they will not," Hikari muttered, before glancing at Kai in his robot suit. "Climb on!" Kai said, and everyone swarmed onto the red robot, hanging onto various parts of the robot, before Kai turned and started to climb up the mountain. The jerky way he did it nearly shook them off (Hikari nearly tumbled off halfway up, but Lloyd caught her by the waist), but they were soon quite a long way up. "They're still coming!" Jay yelled.

"One of these days, we're gonna have to fight-" Cole began, when Zane yelped, "We're not climbing fast enough!"

Hikari flicked her wrist and sent a good deal of the vehicles spiraling to the ground with one of her quakes, and swallowed a few into the Underworld, but there were still more coming.

Kai threw a grappling hook to a ledge above them, and they soared onto the ledge. The vehicles were still coming, but the ledge blocked it from getting to where they were.

"We did it!" Jay yelled as he jumped off, "we made it to the top!" Then he paused. "... but where's the Temple of Light!?"

"Are you sure you used the medallion right?" Lloyd asked, and Jay let out a groan. "Of course I used it right! It said it should be right here!"

Hikari said, thoughtfully, "Technically, when Jay looked through the medallion, it showed that it was at the VERY top of the mountain... we're at the top, but not at the peak, so I think maybe we need to keep going."

The others kept going, climbing the mountain, when Lloyd suddenly gasped as a beam of light hit him and Hikari in the face. They followed it until they reached the peak of the mountain, to see a large temple with a light glowing above it. "The Temple of Light!" he exclaimed.

They all pushed open the doors, which creaked rather loudly as they entered. The temple had glowing crystals on the walls, and it was rather dusty. "Guys, check this out!" Jay exclaimed, and they all looked up. "It's... us!"

It was. There were scenes of Hikari meeting Lloyd, Hikari laughing, Sensei Wu meeting Kai, Kai meeting the others, and their adventures, splashed in a simply drawn mural all over the walls. "Finding the Bounty, facing the Devourer... there's us right now!"

And when they looked up, six ninja stood there, pointing up at the walls and looking up.

"But how could we all be here?" Zane wondered.

"Destiny," Lloyd and Hikari mumbled at the same time. For once, neither yelled 'jinx'. One more scene showed on the wall, the four ninja standing in a square within a circle, and Lloyd and Hikari standing in the very center.

"I think I know what we need to do," Lloyd said, and looked at Hikari, who was smirking slightly. Lloyd knelt down in the middle of the temple, brushing his hand on the ground to reveal two things, a dragon head that was green, and a dragon head that was purple. "Look!"

The other ninja went and brushed off similar, red, blue, black, and white dragon heads, clearing the dust away to reveal the square they'd seen on the wall. The was split in a similar way the Yin-Yang symbol was, and Lloyd moved onto the side that was gold, while Hikari gingerly stepped onto the side that was silver.

"O.. kay, now what?" Lloyd wondered.

Hikari was looking up. "Lloyd, didn't your mom mention something about an instrument of peace earlier? There's a bell above us," she said, and Lloyd looked up to see, in fact, there was a huge bell above them.

"You guys ready for this?" Lloyd asked the ninja, and Hikari tensed into a running position. The two of them ran to opposite sides of the temple, jumped, hit one of the pillars each of the ninja were standing in front of, and leapt at the bell, striking it at the same time.

The sensation jarred them as the bell rang, and the two of them landed.

Gold light, and something that looked akin to a black light, shone on Lloyd and Hikari respectively. Hikari looked up in shock as the gold light started to envelop them. "What's happening?!" Lloyd yelled, and Zane raised his arms. "Nobody move!"

Lloyd and Hikari straightened up, and moved so they were back to back, as a mix of gold and black light hit the metal, shiny part of their hoods and reflected, hitting a crystal, which reflected and hit another one, and another one, until the beam of light hit Kai's pillar. A golden sword hilt appeared in his hand, and his armor changed once again.

It then reflected and hit Zane's, which hit another, which hit two different ones, until the beams of light were richocheting over every single crystal in the temple, changing Cole's armor and giving him a gold sword hilt, changing Jay's, and altering Zane's.

The two of them started rising into the air, and Hikari reached back and took Lloyd's hand automatically. He squeezed it comfortingly as the light enveloped them, and they started spinning. It grew to the point where the light was blinding, so that Hikari could barely see a multicolored fiery sword shoot out of Kai's golden hilt, a greenish brown from Cole's, electric blue from Jay's, and a pure white one from Zane's.

"Guys!" Kai shouted, "send them your powers!" He didn't know that that was what they were supposed to do, yet he just got the feeling it was correct. They all shot beams of ice, fire, lightning, and earth at the two of them, and their power began to merge, before suddenly, a silver and gold dragon flew out and then disappeared, as all the light faded and Lloyd and Hikari dropped to the ground, out of breath.

Lloyd got up from where he was lying, and Hikari. Hikari's eyes seemed even more silver than before, and both of them shouted, determinedly, "Let them have it!"

And as the Stone Army charged, so did the ninja. Kai blocked a hit from a Stone Warrior and sent flames flaring up, making the Stone Warrior start back.

"Cool!" Kai said, cheerfully, before stabbing the blade into the floor and running in a circle around most of the Stone Soldiers, trapping them in a ring of fire, before he ran right in and knocked them all out.

Jay narrowed his eyes and jumped onto their spears, which they stabbed into the pillar. Lightning shot up the blade before he jumped and hit the spear, which electrocuted all of the Stone Army that had tried to come attack him, sending spasms of momentary, blue light fill the room.

More charged towards Zane, who leapt up his pillar as high as he could, making the Stone Army climb onto each other's shoulders to try to reach him. One tried to strike him, but Zane jumped onto his sword. "Hi-YAH!" He jumped down, dragging his blade gently on their backs, freezing them all into a huge ice column, before hitting it and sending them all flying.

Cole slammed his blade into the floor, making cracks rumble towards the Stone Army and enveloped them in dirt. He then chuckled and started dancing, slamming their heads into the dirt.

Lloyd and Hikari looked towards the remainder of the Stone Army that approached them, and grinned at one another. "Our turn."

Lloyd started to form a ball of light, moving so she and he were back to back. Hikari summoned hers as well, when suddenly his green light changed to warm gold, and dark violet Ato cold silver, and then a gold and silver dragon spiraled out of the light, making the entire army retreat as the two dragons exploded out of the temple and spiraled into the sky, and the ninja sent out beams of their elements that lit up the dark night sky.

Hikari lowered her hands, and grinned slightly. "Cool."

Lloyd's lips twitched. Then he laughed, and the two teenagers cracked up in relief. The Final Battle might be coming soon, but right now the two of them could relax and know that for now, they were safe.

 **A/N: And... boom! This incredibly difficult chapter is finished. Lloyd and Hikari have discovered their golden and silver power! Woot!**

 **It's hard to believe that in under two/three weeks I've managed to get from Chapter 10 to Chapter 23. That brings up a question I keep forgetting to ask, actually, should I actually put names up for the chapter? If so what should they be like?**

 **Responses to my commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **Greenninjaisbae: It is, but I didn't choose it because it was from SAO, that part was kind of an accident xD Glad to see another SAO fan, though.**

 **MMM: You'll have to see (wriggles eyebrows) That's a shame, that it's not coming in English, do you know when it comes in English?**

 **Quotev:**

 **Sarah: Ahaha, thanks! :) Glad to see people like my stories so much...**

 **Dream lighting: Thanks, and here is more! (dumps more on you)**

 **Wattpad:**

 **None.**

 **It's almost the one year anniversary for this story, can't wait until after Season 2 is over!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	24. Chapter 24

"Every cog, every gear, is important," Dr. Julien said, Lloyd and Hikari watching him repair the falcon, "if one piece is missing," and the falcon whirred to life and back into an upright position, "or out of place, the invention won't work!" He shut the repair panel, and said to the falcon cheerfully, "Come, now, little one, time to fly."

The falcon flapped its wings before taking off, swooping into the air beautifully.

"It is like you ninja," Sensei Wu said to Lloyd and Hikari, who turned to face him, "you each serve important roles and each are key parts to a magnificent fighting force."

"If we're all gears," Lloyd said, looking worried now, "what if _I'm_ the gear that doesn't work? What if I don't do my part, what if... I can't defeat my father?"

Hikari put her arm on his shoulders, smiling at him. "Hey, don't stress out so much," she said lightly, "you're going to manage to talk yourself out of it. What if I'd had stranger danger as a child? What if I was like 'what if that boy is dangerous?', or, 'what if I get lost?' I never would've met you, let alone become friends with you!"

Lloyd looked at her as she said, soothingly, "When it comes down to it, you won't have to worry, because I'll be there right next to you, okay?"

Lloyd smiled at her. And then she turned pink, and removed her arm, and cleared her throat, the two of them starting to blush. "Don't worry about it, like I said. Don't stress or think about it too much. Focus on what you have to do, on that ONE task, okay? And I'll be right there to help you."

"I know you don't WANT to face your father," Nya said to Lloyd, walking over, "but you have no other choice."

"But perhaps there is," Misako said, evenly, making everyone look at her, "I used to think it was inevitable, but then I found this," and she set down another scroll.

"You mean there might be a way so that Lloyd doesn't have to fight his father?" Cole asked, coming over the crest of the hill. Hikari's face flooded with a huge, red-hot blush now. The ninja were all wearing casual clothing, and Cole and Kai were shirtless.

Lloyd noticed the blush and scowled a bit.

"The scrolls say that when the Helmet of Darkness is bequeathed to its rightful ruler, the Celestial Clock will count down to the activation of an unspeakable weapon. The first sign that the final battle of good and evil has begun," Misako stated, quoting from the scroll.

"Did you just say, unspeakable weapon?" Kai asked, looking rather uncomfortable as he kept approaching.

"Uh, I'm still stuck on what bequeathed means," Jay said. Hikari rattled off, rather quickly, still pink in the face and finding the clear blue sky incredibly fascinating at the moment, "Bequeath, to pass something on or leave something to someone else."

"Oh... still's a weird word, though," Jay said, his momentary enlightened look turning into a thoughtful one.

Cole shushed him and smiled at Misako. "Go on, Misako, don't let us interrupt you. How do we stop the final battle?"

Misako looked back at the scroll, which had a lovely ominous picture on it. Hikari made a slight face at it. "There is nothing here that explains what would happen if the Helmet of Darkness is returned."

Hikari hummed, eyes gleaming slightly, "Hmm, take the helmet, the clock starts. Put it back, the clock stops..."

"And the final battle never starts!" Lloyd picked up, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

Kai frowned and arched his scarred eyebrow, stretching the scar a bit, "That sounds fine, and I know we have our new powers, but... you expect us to get past his whole army of Stone Warriors, _and_ pluck the helmet off his head?"

Nya nodded, crossing her arms. "My brother's right, they're good, but... they're not _that_ good..."

"I know," Misako said evenly, "and that is why _I_ am going to do it. I'll just need... a little help."

Lloyd started to follow the ninja to where Misako was, but Sensei Wu placed his staff on Lloyd's shoulder. Hikari looked at Lloyd's vexed expression as Sensei Wu said simply, "I'm sorry, Lloyd. This battle is not for you."

Lloyd whipped around with a ticked off expression on his face. "Aw, but I'm all powered up! I can help!"

"And what if," Hikari pointed out, "you ran right into your father? You could possibly, prematurely start the Final Battle, before the clock even counts down all the way! We are trying to _prevent_ the Final Battle, not _welcome_ it..."

Lloyd's annoyed expression faded. "... I guess. You'll send Nariko?"

Hikari opened her mouth to speak, but instead a shadowy figure stepped out and stood there, red eyes looking...

Lloyd squinted. Nariko's eyes definitely were more of the shade of a cut ruby, rather than the dull, unpolished shade it usually was, and they sparkled more. Her stance was also a bit more relaxed.

" _Of course,_ " Nariko said, still smirking, " _otherwise she'd be bored out of her mind. I am all source of her news, you know._ "

Hikari smirked slightly. "Yeah, yeah, you don't need to gloat about that, Nari."

Nariko bowed slightly to her, a warm smile written all over her face.

Lloyd turned to Hikari as Nariko went off to where Misako and the ninja were speaking. "Nariko seems... I dunno... less..."

"Evil?" Hikari stated, and when Lloyd nodded, Hikari's brow quirked. "Yeah, I noticed that too. Nariko seemed to _actually_ believe I would do better without you guys... so I think now that she knows you all better..."

"She's debating whether or not that's true?"

Hikari shrugged. "I don't know. But it's a nice change of pace."

* * *

"What did he say?" Cole hissed to the others, with them all (even Nariko, whose disguise was probably the best) dressed as Stone Warriors.

"I don't know!" Kai whispered back.

"I sense it is some ancient language-" Zane was cut off by a flurry of guttural roars and snarls from Nariko, who stepped forward with narrowed eyes. The two soldiers exchanged a flurry of snarls, before Nariko glanced at Misako with an arched eyebrow.

The other ninja stared as Nariko stepped back and Misako came forward.

"How did you know to say that?" Zane whispered.

Nariko shrugged. " _What do you think Hikari and I do in our spare time? We read books on topics. I quite enjoy foreign languages. We've picked up several at this point in time. You're going to have to make yours up, this language took us three weeks to even pick up the basics."_

"You're not going to get another peep out of me unless you take me to Garmadon!" Misako snapped, and the Stone Warrior seized her arm, making Misako gasp in fear. Nariko quickly blocked the others with her poleaxe. " _No! He's only taking her to Garmadon,_ " she hissed, " _don't do anything! ... yet, anyway."_

The ninja all started practicing witty quips, and Nariko's expression turned into a deadpan one. " _... goodness, people would think I have six year olds as friends..._ "

One of the Stone Warriors roared at them, and Nariko exchanged a few more growls and snarls before glancing at the ninja. " _We have to get working! Come on!_ "

The others spoke gibberish, except for Jay, who yelped, "Bequeath, bequeath, bequeath!" in a very gravelly voice. Nariko rolled her eyes, exchanged a few more words with the Stone Warrior, and then hurried off after him, making a good deal of noise in the process, since she was wearing Stone Armor. It was quite heavy, now that she thought about it properly.

One of the Stone Warriors handed her a whole tray of- _"Dark Matter_ ," she said, darkly, and marched after the ninja. "No matter how many bad situations we get ourselves OUT of," Jay was hissing to the others, "we never seem to be able to escape CHORES!"

Nariko smirked and looked up at the structure. " _So, this is the unspeakable weapon Misako spoke of? Looks like a bonfire collection of twigs to me,"_ she mumbled.

Kai snorted.

They passed a large, silver thing, that appeared to look like...

"I don't know about you," Kai whispered to Nariko, who was right behind him, "but that just looked like a massive cannon!"

"What do you suppose it is for?" Zane whispered to Nariko.

Nariko squinted. " _I am not sure. I have never seen a cannon of that magnitude. Perhaps it is some sort of long distance shooter? Although, chances are it is mainly to destroy you lot."_

One of the Stone Warriors proceeded to smack Cole on the head. He glared at it. "Hey! Why don't you hit someone your own size, half-stack?!"

The Stone Warrior growled at him and brandished the staff again, and Nariko casually glanced away and kicked it over the edge. " _Whoopsy daisy~"_ she said casually.

The Stone Warrior crashed into a barrel, and Cole said, "Thanks, Nariko, that guy seriously had it coming."

The ninja all spun into their gi, and the Stone Army charged up the ramp. Zane shrugged and raised his Elemental Blade. "At least we get to break the _ice!_ " he shot a blast of ice at the floor at the Stone Army's feet, and they skidded before falling over the edge again.

"Nice one, Zane!" Kai said with a grin. Nariko rolled her red eyes, and grabbed the hands of the next Stone Warrior that charged up. " _Have you ever heard of dancing with death?_ " She spun the Stone Warrior elegantly before twirling himself and dipping him over the edge of the roof, and then letting go and dropping him to the ground hundreds of feet below.

Kai clapped Nariko on the back, making her stare at him in surprise. "Good one!" he said, smirking at her.

Nariko blinked before her gaze grew softer and a bit more uncomfortable. "Th... thank you," she stated at last, not meeting his gaze. Kai blinked- for a moment, her voice sounded normal, and not echoing, or harsh...

Nariko saw him looking and smirked. " _What are you waiting for, Firefly?"_ she asked sarcastically.

"Let's get Misako and get out of here," Kai said, after a moment's hesitation. "Ninja-GO!" Nariko grabbed him before he really started spinning, which meant she was now inside the Spinjitzu tornado.

* * *

"You got the helmet!" Cole said, happily, and Misako said, not so happily, "And _you_ got spotted."

Nariko rolled her eyes. " _Sorry that that Stone Warrior smacked one of my friends in the head._ "

Cole looked at her. "We're friends?"

" _Sure, Naughty. Anyway, let's not lay blame everywhere and focus on what's in front of us!_ "

A huge _BOOM_ from behind. They all whirled around to see a huge robot storming over. "Maybe we should worry more about what's BEHIND us!" Kai yelped.

Garmadon laughed derisively. "Cut them down to size!" he cackled evilly, before raising a sword and bringing it down.

Nariko raised her hand simply, sending up a huge wave of darkness that the sword sparked off of. "If we don't return the helmet before the clock strikes zero, we won't be able to stop the Final Battle!" shouted Misako, clutching the helmet tightly.

"We're on it!" Jay shouted, as Nariko released the wave of darkness and summoned another. Strings of black darkness tethered Garmadon's robot to the ground, but Nariko trembled as she did so. "Hit him now, you idiots!" she shouted, the echo fading in and out of her voice.

They sent fire at him, earth, lightning... but Garmadon was able to move his sword enough to block each hit, and Nariko let go of the strings. "If I keep this up I'm not going to be able to stay out here," she said tiredly, "so I can't do it for too long..."

"We better think of something quick," Kai said, backing away a bit, "'Cause... I'm all out of lines."

A huge drill exploded from the ground in front of them, and the drill emerged from the ground before them and blazed right into Garmadon's robot, knocking him over.

"Hey guys!" Nya said casually.

Jay's eyes were wider than golf balls. "How did you know we needed you?!"

Nya pointed upwards. "Look up."

The falcon swooped over them, letting out a cry. Nariko smirked and crossed her arm. " _Well, Snowflake, looks like your little bird came in handy after all,_ " she said, but she somehow managed to make that sound like a compliment.

"Get in!" Nya ordered, and everyone jumped in, Nariko sitting in the back next to Misako as Nya gunned the engine again. "Hang on!" And they barreled straight into the ground, the drill whirring to life.

The inside of the tunnel was so pitch-black trying to see anything inside the tunnel was like Nariko splashing darkness all over your eyes.

Jay popped the Helmet of Darkness on. "Heh, cool hat. Wonder if it'll make me look menacing."

"Y'sure that's a good idea?" Nya asked casually, "'cause if that thing turns you evil, I'm kicking you out."

Nariko shook her head. " _I don't think the Helmet of Darkness can do that, but... yeah, perhaps it's not the safest course of action to pop it on, Bluebird."_

He took it off, chuckling sheepishly. "Hehe, it's probably got Garmadon cooties anyway."

"Did you get the helmet?" Sensei Wu asked over the loudspeaker.

"We did," Nya said cheerfully, "and we're all accounted for."

"Then let's rendezvous at the clock," Sensei Wu said.

A Stone Warrior landed on the hood of the car, making them all shriek.

" _Can't this giant heap of metal go any faster?!_ " Nariko yelled in shock. Nya grimaced. "We're going as fast as we can!"

" _Well, I can tell you right now that we are most certainly not going nearly fast enough!_ " Nariko snapped.

The vehicle behind them bumped into the back wheel, making the whole drill shudder and everyone scream out in fear as Nya hit the gas and exploded out of the ground, making their eyes all water from the sudden light.

"We're losing them!" yelled Jay, and Zane grinned. " _Excellent!_ " he exclaimed.

"Awesome," Nya sighed in relief.

" _Well... this isn't good._ " Garmadon's robot was thundering along behind them and getting even closer than before.

"I won't let you get away from me again, Misako!"

" _Yandere much?!_ " Nariko snarked, but she was starting to fidget in agitation. She then suddenly let out a vehement exclamation and disappeared into a wisp of smoke as Garmadon picked up the drill, and started shaking it. Nya tried to open the windshield, but it was stuck.

"I finally have you ninja," Garmadon snarled happily, "in the _palm_ of my hand!"

"LET THEM GO!"

A blast of green and purple light hit Garmadon's robot and knocked him over, making the drill crash to the ground haphazardly.

The windshield slid back from the force of the impact, and all the ninja stood up to look at Garmadon's robot, which was smoking and sparking in the middle of a cloud of smoke.

Lloyd and Hikari approached them, and Nya said, sharply, "Lloyd, Hikari, be careful!"

Garmadon emerged from the robot, Lloyd and Hikari watching him as he stepped out. He wasn't wearing a helmet, and Hikari couldn't tell you how odd it was to see him like that, with spiky hair that looked a little like it had hat hair. It was a bit funny to think about it like that, though.

Lloyd and Hikari walked forward, their hands entwining automatically as they approached Garmadon. Neither of them even looked embarrassed.

Jay faintly gasped from where he was. "Holy cannoli! Lloyd, Hikari, and Garmadon in a faceoff!"

A momentary silence filled the air.

"Strike him down!"

"Do not hesitate!"

"He's vulnerable!"

Hikari and Lloyd looked from the shouting ninja to Garmadon, who was bent over and panting weakly, their faces unreadable beneath the masks they were wearing.

"I'm sorry, father," Lloyd said simply. "You leave us no choice."

Lloyd and Hikari started to form spheres of glowing power, but then Lloyd faltered. Hikari looked over to see his eyes beginning to well up with unshed tears, and his power was fading.

He suddenly let it die, the spark of energy fading out, and Hikari followed suit. Even if their destiny was to fight Garmadon, to defeat him, Hikari was pretty sure that now- right here and now- was not the time. Not with a weakened Garmadon.

"They're coming!"

The shouts of the Stone Army sounded, and Garmadon chuckled darkly. Hikari grabbed Lloyd's hand. "The clock's not too far away," she said simply, "we have to move."

The drill whirred over, and Lloyd and Hikari jumped in, Lloyd sitting in the place Nariko had occupied and Hikari having to perch in his lap (something both of them were secretly happy about), the windshield slid shut, and they dug back into the ground, making the entire ground rumble loudly.

* * *

They emerged near the clock, where Sensei Wu was waiting.

"Wow," Nya and Hikari spoke at the same time, staring at the clock.

"This clock is a mechanical masterpiece..." Nya breathed in wonder, staring at the clock.

Hikari tilted her head and stared at the spinning, moving, twirling arms of the clock. "It's kinda pretty, actually," she remarked quietly, before getting out of the drill and rushing towards the clock.

"You're welcome to dismantle it once we stop it," Misako said warmly. Jay let out a cry of alarm, "there's only a couple minutes left on the clock!"

"Everyone, look for the helmet's perch! It could be anywhere!" Misako said sharply, and Hikari ran forward with the others, stepping in. "Perhaps I've found the perch!" Zane shouted, and Misako tossed the helmet down to him from where she was.

Zane jumped up onto a spinning thing and set it there, but the clock kept spinning. "Nope, wrong place," he sighed.

"Maybe over here!" Jay yelled, and Zane chucked the helmet over. Jay leapt onto the clock and poked it onto a round orb. "That's not it..."

Hikari waved. "I think I found it?"

Jay chucked it over again, and Hikari perched it on a small, flat area that was spinning around. It kept spinning, and she sighed and shook her head. "Nope, looks like I was wrong."

"Could this be the place?"

Hikari picked it up and threw it back to Sensei Wu, who was suddenly shoved forward as one of the Stone Warriors caught the helmet. Hikari cringed and jumped down from the clock, landing roughly on the stone ground.

"There's only thirty seconds left," croaked the Stone Warrior, "I believe, it's time to di-"

He was very rudely cut off by Sensei Wu smacking it out of his hands with his staff and sending the helmet soaring onto the farthest corner of the clock.

"Get the helmet!" Misako cried. Cole ran for the clock. "Right!"

He climbed the area the helmet was in, before leaping over the moon that the helmet was perched on the end of and punching the Stone Warrior that had climbed the clock to get it over the edge. "Got it- woah!" he dropped it, and it dropped into Jay's hands- rebounded-

Zane lunged for it, and the helmet bounced off and clanged onto a small, quiet area, only ten feet from the helmet's pedestal.

"The helmet's perch!" Misako yelled.

"There's only ten seconds left!" Sensei Wu exclaimed in fear.

"I'll get it," Misako said, only for her way to be blocked by a Stone Warrior. She let out a gasp, as Hikari suddenly came in and kicked it away. "Hurry, Misako!"

"Okay," she agreed, and charged for the helmet, flipped and landed, and grabbed it. She ran back for the perch.

The last second ticked and the minute hand reached the skull, just as Misako set the helmet down and the helmet retracted.

The clock slowed to a stop, with a groaning of machinery.

Hikari raised a hand. "Wait..."

The clock continued to slow... before still, slowly rotating into place.

"The Horns of Caution!" Misako said, with a groan, "we were too late!" And indeed, a loud sound was blaring from the clock, making Hikari cringe slightly, as a sudden ray of light explode out of the skull, hit the mechanical pieces, and rebounded until it hit one structure with a magnifying glass that sent a huge, blazing beam of light through the sky.

Hikari followed the beam of light with her eyes, and backed up to where Lloyd was, taking a fighting stance.

The rock beneath them suddenly groaned, and Nya turned as the whole thing fell away, making her gasp and reach out. Hikari let out a cry of fear and gripped Lloyd's hand tightly as they fell.

"Nya!" Jay shouted. "Jay!" Nya cried back.

"SIS!" Kai bellowed.

One of the Stone Warriors grabbed Nya, and then the others all started falling as the rock ledge they'd been standing on tipped towards the ocean.

"L-Lloyd!" Hikari reached out for him, his hand entwining with hers, and the two of them pulled together, Hikari pulling him to her in fear as they plunged into the water below.

The cold water was a shock, and for a moment the two of them sank like stones, before Hikari released him from the impromptu hug and swam to the surface, the air washing her face.

Everyone pulled each other ashore onto the sand that the cliff rested on. Lloyd groaned and buried his head into his hands. "This is all my fault! I should've taken the shot! Hikari wouldn't have stopped if I hadn't!"

"We're all at fault kid," Cole quickly comforted, reaching out and putting his hands on Lloyd's shoulders, "it's... just the way the cookie crumbles."

"IS THAT A JOKE?!" Jay screamed in anger, "THEY JUST TOOK NYA AND YOU'RE MAKING JOKES?!"

"It's not a joke!" Hikari's raised voice made everyone look at her as she put her arms between Jay and Cole. "We already lost enough, we can't lose our focus. The Final Battle could start at any moment now that the clock has reached zero!"

"She's right," Misako said simply. "We must head back to the Bounty, so that next time, you two will not hesitate." Her last words were directed towards her son and Hikari, who both nodded.

Everyone walked back towards the Bounty, soaking wet and feeling almost completely hopeless. Hikari entwined her hands with Lloyd. "Lloyd?" she asked, softly.

Lloyd looked at her, with her worried eyes and pale face matching how he felt. "Yeah?"

Hikari hesitated, before saying softly, "I really hope it's nowhere near the end of our destinies..."

Lloyd's hand tightened on hers. "I hope so too," he said, but looking back at the sunset-painted sky, he privately thought that there was a good chance it was going to be.

 **A/N: Soo... I feel like this chapter was badly written. I dunno, what do you think? Let me know in the comments/reviews.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: You'll see ;)**

 **Quotev:**

 **None.**

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 **None.**

 **I think there's less and less reviews now... well, final battle in two chapters. I'm hyped for it!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	25. Chapter 25

Sensei Wu pushed aside some greenery as they reached where Dr. Julien was looking around in a slight panic. "What was that sound?" he asked, when Sensei and the others reached where he was standing. "Eh, the horns?"

"The Celestial Clock has reached zero," Sensei Wu responded simply, "Garmadon's ultimate weapon is in operation. And the Final Battle between good and evil has almost begun."

"Now Lloyd and Hikari must face Lord Garmadon," Misako said, making the two teenagers look at her slightly.

Dr. Julien looked at them, a confused look on his face. "But where's Nya?"

Hikari's fists tightened, and her jaw tightened. She released Lloyd's hand, making his eyes snap to her, as she began to turn around and around, looking around.

"Hikari?"

Hikari didn't respond, still looking around. "... Nya was kidnapped by the Overlord," she finally answered Dr. Julien's question, still searching with her dark gray eyes. She finally stopped and glanced down. "I have this funny feeling, though..."

* * *

 _Hikari shivered, her long dark hair dirty from being in the basement and her clothes feeling cold against her skin. The boxes around her were scattered from when she leaned against it and knocked some of them over._

 _No one had come to get her. Why hadn't anyone come to get her?_

 _Where was her mom?_

 _Where was her dad?_

 _Why weren't they here with her?_

 _She spotted something on the floor a few feet from her feet, a little box that she'd never noticed before, lying on its side where she'd accidentally knocked it over with the lid loosened. She crawled over to it, gently lifting the lid and peeking inside the container._

 _What looked like a small pile of the palest purple, translucent jelly with sparkles inside was in the box, and she dipped her index finger in and scooped some up. It was cool and gelatinous on her finger._

 _She looked at it curiously. Maybe it was some sort of food?_

 _So she put her finger in her mouth and licked it off._

 _It tasted kind of funny- like, sweet, but... at the same time, very sour and slightly bitter. She made a face as she swallowed, although it didn't taste as bad as she'd imagined it would._

 _So, over the course of the next few days, she slowly ate out of the little box, until it was completely empty._

 _It made something inside of her tug slightly whenever she ate it, perhaps a gag reflex, but she forced it down and told herself she wasn't going to throw up. She never knew when she could get more food, so she had to take what she could get._

* * *

Hikari recognized the feeling now, a slight tugging in her gut.

"... _oh!_ "

Everyone looked at her expectantly. "... I know where Nariko comes from... and I know what they're doing to Nya..."

Kai and Jay practically jumped on her at the last part. "YOU DO?!"

Hikari winced and covered her ears before chuckling slightly. "Ah! Uh, yeah. Back when I... you know, I was in the basement, I found a box of what I _think_ was some very diluted Dark Matter. My mum always liked experimenting... anyway, I didn't know what it was, so..." She rubbed her head sheepishly. "I ate it..."

"Anyway, it didn't corrupt me, which is what Dark Matter _usually_ does, but I think it created an alternative 'persona' inside of me, which is where Nariko might stem from. I'll have to ask, if she knows any more than I do. But I got this funny tugging feeling whenever it _did_ happen... and I'm getting that feeling..."

Jay bit his lip, his electric-blue eyes sparking slightly with nerves. "What are you saying?"

Hikari hesitated before stating, slowly and almost reluctantly, "I... _I think..._ I think they're feeding Nya Dark Matter... and it's undiluted, meaning that it will most likely fully corrupt her."

"Are you saying they're turning my sister evil?!" Kai snapped, amber eyes flaring up. Hikari stepped back a bit in surprise, before she turned her palms up helplessly. "I mean, it's rather likely..."

"We'll get her back," Sensei Wu said, "at the moment, there are bigger things at stake- such as all of Ninjago itself."

"Who cares about Ninjago?!" Jay burst out angrily. "Nya was _my-_ uh, my... uh, you know!"

"And she was _my_ sister," Kai said, putting a hand on Jay's shoulder comfortingly. "I know her being captured is tough, but she's tough- tougher than most of us! Even if she might be evil... we'll see her again."

Sensei Wu hesitated before looking at Lloyd and Hikari, who were standing back near one another again. "Lloyd, Hikari," he stated simply, "your focus gives strength in invoking the power of the Golden and Silver Dragons. You cannot lose faith now. Everything rests on your shoulders."

Hikari glanced up at Lloyd as he burst out again. "But Sensei, you SAW what happened when I tried to face my father! I-I froze! ... I can't fight him."

Hikari put a hand on her shoulder. "Lloyd, I know it's hard... but remember, your dad is just as reluctant to fight you. And I'm right here."

Lloyd looked at her, before suddenly turning and wrapping his arms around her. Hikari couldn't help it; her face turned bright pink in shock. "Thank you..." he whispered.

"... mm," Hikari hummed finally, and hugged him back.

"And you two won't be alone," Kai said suddenly, making the two of them break apart with a red blush on their cheeks. He smiled slightly for a moment beneath his mask. "You have my fire," and he drew his Elemental Blade.

"And you have my earth!" Cole said, drawing his own sword.

Zane nodded as he stepped forward, holding his own sword out. "And my ice."

"And my lightning!" Jay agreed, holding out his own sword, which crackled to life.

"We're all in this together, kids!" Cole said proudly to the two of them. Hikari smiled and flipped her hood on, which hid her hair and the rest of her face, save her eyes. "Well, then what are we waiting for?"

"Let's suit up!" Lloyd agreed.

Nariko stepped out of Hikari, smiling slightly. "Indeed."

Kai's eyes widened when he saw her. Her skin was more a shade of pale gray, and she was as solid as any of the others had ever seen her. Her black hair was the same, although it hung more over her eyes, and her eyes were red. She wore a black ninja suit that looked exactly like Hikari's. She smiled at Hikari sardonically. "Are you ready, then?"

Hikari smirked back. "Hey Nari. Sure I'm ready."

"Sure?"

"Sure I'm sure, you dummy!" Nariko smirked even more as Hikari crossed her arms.

* * *

The whole group ran towards the fortress. "Get down, now!" Lloyd hissed, and they all ducked down.

"They won't know what hit them," Cole said, almost vindictively.

Nariko noticed Kai glancing at her, and made a sarcastic kissy face. "Like what you see, Firefly?"

Kai turned back to the front abruptly, his face turning red even through his red mask. Nariko cackled before turning back to the front when she saw Hikari's arched eyebrow. Her own face seemed a bit of a darker gray color.

"Time to chop wood!" Jay said, and they all charged for the gates...

Only to see the whole camp was deserted, empty.

Jay flipped his hood back, looking confused. "Uh, where the heck IS everybody?"

Cole grunted, annoyed. "And here I was, all ready to release the thunder!"

"Technically Bluebird has more right to say that, Naughty. YOU have more right to say 'the avalanche'," Nariko pointed out, making Cole give her a disgruntled look.

"Garmadon's weapon is gone!" Kai pointed out, "we're too late!"

They crossed into the camp with Kai shouting out for his sister.

The falcon's cry made them all look up, and Zane said quietly, "My falcon friend wants to show us something."

It swooped over a set of tire treads, and they followed the tracks. Lloyd gulped a bit when he saw it had smashed through the wooden fence with the huge set of tires. "Whoa... that's one big weapon..."

"It appears to be heading toward the coast," Zane said, looking at the tracks and into the trees. "But why?" Lloyd wondered, looking into the trees in confusion, "wouldn't he try to use it on us?"

"No," Hikari said softly, making everyone turn to look at her, "I don't think so... he wants to turn Ninjago into his own image. He's going to be using that weapon on Ninjago."

Sensei Wu nodded. "Hikari's reasoning is right- he always wanted to turn our world into his own image."

Nariko scowled, glaring into the trees. "I mean, I always wanted to turn it into our own image as well, but... at least I'm not a delusional a-"

"Nariko," and Nariko subsided at Hikari's warning tone and look.

"But if he starts turning things evil," Misako said, "the balance will shift and allow the Overlord to cross over into _our world!_ "

"Then we have to make sure that my father _never_ fires that weapon!" Lloyd said, and started running. Everyone followed, until Zane's cry of 'Father!'

They turned to see Dr. Julien panting slightly. "You go on without me... I'm an inventor, not a fighter! I'll only get in the way."

"But what will you do?" Zane asked, sounding concerned as he went back over to his old father.

Dr. Julien smiled at his son. "I'll be back at the Bounty, waiting for you to return in one piece. But don't worry. A part of me will always be with you."

"Be well, Father," Zane said, and ran back to his friends as Dr. Julien responded, "Be safe."

He waved them goodbye as they ran off into the forest, following the tire treads and the trail of destruction.

* * *

"Um..." Jay started, sounding uncomfortable, "is anyone else thinking about how this might be our final fight together?"

"Yeah," Kai said uncomfortably.

Zane glanced away slightly, still sprinting along the path. "Of course."

"It's ALL I've been thinking about," Cole agreed.

"We've come a long way," Kai said, "and it wasn't so long ago that Sensei found us."

"Hey," Jay said, a slight chuckle tinging his voice, "you remember that time Kai thought _he_ was the Green Ninja?"

Everyone started chuckling, even Lloyd, who was concerned, Hikari, who was being unusually serious, and even Nariko, to Kai's slight dismay. "Yes, that was quite the memory," Zane said cheerfully.

Cole cackled, "He was SO NOT!"

Zane suddenly added, "Or what about the Hypnobrai when he hypnotized Cole? And we had to fight him?"

More laughter. "Yeah, I was so confused when I saw him advancing on you guys," Hikari chuckled, "since I thought he was with you."

"We should've just kicked his butt!" Kai snickered, and Lloyd giggled, "Haha, you HAD to destroy our treehouse."

Hikari laughed even harder when she remembered that event, having to bite her lip to make herself subside a bit.

"Or what about that time when Sensei came out of the guts of the Devourer's belly?" Zane added, making all of them explode into slightly grossed out laughter, "drinking tea!"

Cole cackled, "Oh, that was _so_ gross!"

"Yeah, I thought he was a goner!" Jay giggled, and then yelped as Sensei Wu clocked him on the back of the head with his staff. "Says you, Mr. Empty Head," he retorted, making everyone explode into bursts of laughter.

Something suddenly darted across the path, and everyone skidded to a stop.

"Something _is_ roaming here," Cole said, looking around.

"Where?!" Jay asked, turning himself around.

Kai frowned slightly. "Did I just see...?"

"I sense an evil presence," Zane said simply, his eyes scanning over the landscape.

"Above us!"

Everyone looked into the trees, when something suddenly darted past, a spinning, red, Spinjitzu tornado.

"Aw! My jaw, that hurt!" Cole exclaimed as it smacked into his face. The Spinjitzu tornado knocked Lloyd and Hikari over, sending Hikari flying a few feet away and making Lloyd fall backwards onto his butt.

"No one does that to the Green Ninja!" Kai yelled angrily at the tornado.

It stopped spinning, and Jay let out a cry. "Nya!"

"That is no longer Nya," Sensei Wu said, having to put his arms out to stop both Jay and Kai, who looked as though he could break something- namely, every bone in Garmadon's body. "What," he seethed, eyes sparking with flames, "did he do to my _sister!_ "

Nya looked grayed out, a bit like Nariko, now that they thought about it, except her eyes glowed purple. She let out a wicked growl. Nariko's eyes clouded over. "He used the Dark Matter... and made Nya into his own vision of her."

Hikari's eyes clouded as well. "And it was most certainly undiluted... so rather than made an alternative persona that took _over_ Nya, like Nariko would've done when she was..." she drifted off, vaguely.

"Fully evil," Nariko picked up calmly, "he has merely corrupted her entire being."

"Garmadon must've sent her to slow us down," Sensei Wu cut in, "we must keep him from firing that weapon!"

Nya began to spin a spiked sphere on a chain, and Cole said, desperately, "Well, what do we do?! Use our elemental powers on her?!"

"NO!" Jay yelled, "I don't want to hurt her!"

"Jay's right," Kai agreed, "we just have to find a way to keep her from-!"

Nariko yanked him backwards, and he stumbled and fell on top of Nariko, who grunted in pain as the ball whisked through the air where Kai had just been (Zane dived out of the way) and whisked back to Nya's hand.

Kai rolled off of Nariko and got to his feet. "Whoa, thanks, Nariko."

"No problem, Firefly," Nariko gasped, before slowly and rather painfully unfurling to her feet.

"Lloyd!" Cole said, "you and Hikari head up ahead of us with Sensei and Misako! Let us take care of Nya!"

"But, you said you'll always be behind me!" Lloyd yelped, sounding a little startled.

"We will be," Kai said, determinedly, "we'll catch up as soon as we can!"

Nariko spun into her own, pure black Spinjitzu tornado and caught the end of the ball and chain, as Nya attempted to yank it free.

Kai stared. "Wait, you're staying too?"

"Why do you think I just grabbed the dangerous spiked ball and chain and am now fighting to keep ahold of it so your evil sister doesn't hit you in the face with it? For funsies perhaps?" Nariko responded sarcastically, keeping ahold of the chain tightly.

"All right, we must go!" Misako said, and they all started running past. "Good luck, Nariko!" Hikari shouted before disappearing along the path with Lloyd, Sensei Wu, and Misako.

"You too!" Nariko responded, before flicking the chain with her wrist. It sent an odd undulation, which came right back up and smacked Nya in the face. Nya let out an outraged shriek, and Nariko took advantage of the distraction to yank the entire chain over into her hands. Winding it around her hands, she twirled it.

"Triple Tiger Sashay!" Cole shouted, and charged, but Nya caught him and flicked him behind her. Spinning around, she grabbed his hands and flipped him over so that he spun into the other ninja, knocking them over like bowling pins.

Nariko flicked out the chain, taunting evil Nya with it as the ninja all got up, and then charged towards her.

* * *

"FATHER, DON'T!" Lloyd yelled as he and Hikari tore towards the huge weapon. Hikari felt her mouth go entirely dry at the sight of it. It looked like an armored tank, except about twelve times more dangerous and a hundred times more evil. It was also more flamboyant.

"Lloyd!" Lord Garmadon sounded surprised.

" _What are you doing?!_ " hissed a voice, and Hikari glanced up to see a throbbing, purplish-pinkish-red sphere of lighPust pulsating in the air. " _Push the button!_ "

Hikari moved closer to Lloyd, winding her fingers into his. He responded, his face pale but drawn with determination. "So the balance has sent my son, my brother, my wife, and my son's girlfriend to try to stop me?" Garmadon sneered.

"I'm not his girl- you know what, now is really not the time to argue about that," Hikari started and then stopped herself, her cheeks turning pink. Lloyd was also blushing a little underneath the mask as Garmadon continued, pretending he hadn't heard Hikari, "Looks like my surprise has kept the ninja busy!"

"Don't do it," Misako shouted up to her husband, "If you alter the balance, it will allow the Overlord to cross over!"

"The balance will be destroyed and we will _all_ pay dearly!" Sensei Wu added.

" _Don't listen to them_ ," rasped the Overlord, making Hikari's spine crawl at the sound of it, " _They betrayed you!_ "

Hikari tilted her head rather innocently. "Wait, so he shouldn't believe that Lloyd and I aren't dating?" she asked.

There was a short silence in which a pin could've dropped on the SAND and everyone would've heard it. Lloyd was fighting to hide a smile beneath his mask and Garmadon and the Overlord, for once, had absolutely nothing to say in response to that.

"Um... ahem," Lloyd finally coughed, trying to keep any amusement out of his voice, "I don't want to fight you!" he shouted to his father, who looked back to him. Hikari frowned and looked at him, before back at Lord Garmadon. "But we will if we have to!"

"This is more than about just us," Lloyd added, and Hikari finished the sentence with him, "this is about what is right."

Garmadon was silent for a moment before gesturing. "Don't you see?! I will _never_ do what is right! The evil in my blood can _never_ go away! It has corrupted every ounce of my fiber, every bone in my body! I am Lord Garmadon! Destiny took my family from me, and the only way for us to be together is for me to turn EVERYTHING in this world into MY image!"

Hikari opened her mouth to say something, paused, and closed it again.

"Then you will all see what I see, feel what I feel-" Garmadon was cut off by his wife.

"It's not too late," Misako said to her husband. His red eyes bored into her, and he seethed, venomously, "You made your decision. I will make mine."

And he turned away.

"NO!" All of them shouted.

There was a slight 'beep' as his hand hit the button.

'Garmatron,' the machine said, 'warming up in two months...'

Hikari blinked, before the machine recalculated, 'Twenty seconds...'

"WARMING UP?!" Garmadon almost screeched, before shouting up to the Overlord, "You could've warned me it had to warm up!"

" _How could I?_ " the Overlord croaked, " _you were monologuing._ "

'Sixteen,' the machine stated.

Hikari was seized with the sudden desire to laugh. She quashed it and glanced at the others. "We have to find a way to turn it off!"

"Stop them!" Garmadon screeched, and the Stone Army roared as they charged.

A set of guns fired lights, and Misako stepped in front of them and blocked them using the container she used for her research.

Hikari blinked slightly as Misako said to the two of them, "Go!"

The two of them backed up before running and leaping.

'Ten... nine...'

Lloyd landed with a flip and Hikari landed on Lloyd's back, before flipping off again and tensing as she looked at Garmadon.

'Eight... seven... six..."

"No!" Garmadon seethed, as Lloyd stood up, preparing to fight.

'Five...'

Hikari dodged Lord Garmadon and examined the controls, before she was forced to dodge so that Lord Garmadon didn't hit her.

'Four...'

A Stone Warrior pinned Lloyd to the wall. "Got you," he said, in a gloating voice. Hikari ran back and shoulder-tackled it, making her shoulder ache but the Warrior release Lloyd.

'Three...'

Hikari grabbed Lloyd, and the two of them backed away.

'Two...'

Hikari bit her lip in fear. "Oh no..." she mumbled, her fingers entwining with Lloyd's.

'One...'

Another beep, and a huge missile fired from the cannon and spiraled off. Hikari watched it with her eyes until it was lost in the storm clouds above her.

Garmadon let out a loud, derisive, laugh. "I... WIN!" he screeched, triumphantly.

The Stone Warrior grabbed both of them. "Lloyd! Hikari!" Sensei Wu shouted, "you must focus, and put a stop to this!"

Lloyd and Hikari looked at each other, in concern, before putting their hands together. A beam of green and purple light began to form, when suddenly the floor gave out beneath them.

Hikari let out an alarmed gasp as they fell down a chute and were spat out onto the sand, not too far away. Hikari got up, grimacing slightly as Garmadon shouted, "You think you can stop me?!"

He fired another missile towards Ninjago, and Hikari helped Lloyd to his feet.

"Hikari, are you okay?" he groaned.

"Yeah... well, sort of... you?" she asked, wincing as she brushed some sand from her hair.

Lloyd looked back at the weapon ('Garmatron') with a pretty deadpan face. "As good as I can get in these circumstances..."

* * *

The other ninja groaned as Cole was being hung upside down by the ball and chain. "We have to help them!" Jay shouted.

Nariko scowled. "Yeah, well, _chiquita_ here is being stubborn!" she snapped slightly.

"Well, we have to take care of your sister! It's four against one and I think she's winning!"

"That's only because she doesn't care if she hurts us or not! We don't want to hurt her and that means we REALLY have to hold back!" Nariko snapped. Then her eyes lit up. "... what if you used your powers... but you didn't hurt her? Then that would solve the problem!"

"I like that idea!" Zane agreed, and shot a blast of ice that sliced through the chain, making both Cole and Nya fall to the ground.

"Let's do it!"

Nya threw two darts, but Zane and Jay threw their swords up and blocked it.

"Cole, Nariko, can you blind her for a sec?" Jay asked Cole and Nariko.

"Thanks to you, sure thing!" He stabbed his sword into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust and dirt that made Nya let out a shriek of pain. Nariko then held her hand out, and a cloud of inky blackness fired from her hand, splashing Nya across the eyes.

"Kai! Quick! Cut that tree!" Jay shouted, and Kai whipped out his Elemental Blade. "On it!" he fired another blast of fire, which sent a palm tree toppling towards Nya, who was staggering around.

"I see what you're doing!" Zane threw another blast of ice, which iced over the top of the tree and made a frigid prison, in which Nya's screams of rage could still be heard.

"Sorry, sis," Kai apologized, "this club just became boys only."

Nariko gently flicked him on the back of head. "And what am I?" she said, smiling sardonically, "chopped liver perhaps?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, you know what I'm doing."

"Yes. Anyway, hurry!" Nariko started running along the path, her hair streaming out behind her as they dashed away rapidly, towards the coast.

* * *

The Overlord cackled evilly, and Lloyd said, helplessly, "W-we tried-!"

"We did, we really-!" Hikari nodded, but Sensei Wu simply placed his hand on their backs. "I know."

"It is done," Misako said, in an almost dismissive tone, "the balance has shifted."

"Stop laughing," Garmadon demanded to the Overlord, "this is _my_ victory! What's happening?"

"You've helped upset the balance," the Overlord croaked gleefully, "because of you, I can now cross over into your world! I'm finally FREE!"

"Wait a minute!" Garmadon shouted, "you stole that from MY playbook! You can _forget_ about it! Ninjago is MINE!"

The Overlord seethed with wicked glee, "No, it was never going to be yours, it- is- MINE!"

And a bolt of white light struck the machine, and Lloyd's father, and an agonized scream filled the air. Hikari cried out and stumbled back, gripping Lloyd's shoulder as the wind picked up, blasting her hair back from her face in a wild, windblown effect.

"Sorry we're late," Jay panted, rushing over, "did we miss much?"

Garmadon let out another screech of agony, and Jay's eyes widened. "H-holy...!"

Garmadon's hands turned into clawed, gnarled monstrosities and he straightened up, looking at his hands with wide, red eyes. "Wh-what is happening to me?!"

"Are you scared?" Jay squeaked into Hikari's ear in fear, "I'm scared!"

Hikari watched as Garmadon straightened up suddenly, his face long and snoutlike, with glowing violet eyes. " _The metamorphosis,_ " he croaked, in the Overlord's horrible voice, " _is complete!_ "

"Metamorphosis?!" Kai sputtered, "what does that mean?!"

"Metamorphosis is a biological process in which someone or something changes into something else-" Zane was cut off by Cole's shout of, "Yeah, changes into something UGLY!"

Hikari watched in horror as Lord- no, the Overlord- roared with horrible, croaking laughter. Sensei Wu grabbed Lloyd, who'd started moving forward. "No, Lloyd- that is no longer your father."

"But what about the prophecy?!" Lloyd cried, "it said I had to face my father!"

"You still must," Misako answered, sternly, "but now the Overlord has possessed him. Unlike your father, the Overlord will not show you mercy."

"What about Hikari?" Lloyd asked over the roaring winds.

"Hikari is easily corrupted, even without Nariko, because of the pure darkness she has power over," Misako answered quietly, and Nariko glanced at Hikari, whose eyes were wide with fear. "The Overlord will do his best to turn Hikari over to his side, and Hikari's job is arguably one of the hardest- she must help you defeat the Overlord without succumbing to his persuasion and her own darkness."

"You can do this, Lloyd, Hikari," Kai said, putting a hand on both their shoulders.

Jay nodded, "We're here, and behind you all the way!"

"He's tough," Cole added in, "but you two are tougher!"

"But we have to act before his evil gets more powerful!" Zane shouted, and Lloyd and Hikari turned back to the machine to see the Overlord cackling, before turning to one another.

"Let's do this!" they shouted in perfect sync, before everyone charged forward, spinning into their brightly colored Spinjitzu tornados. "NINJA-GO!"

Lloyd and Hikari fired a green and purple blast of energy, setting a ring of sand on fire, before they charged in. Zane froze a knot of the Stone Army, and Cole sent the frozen brigade everywhere as he shattered the ice. Hikari then slammed a chasm into the earth, swallowing some of the Stone Army, before closing it again.

Kai slid under one of the vehicles, ducking under the spinning blades, and jabbing his sword into it as he ran, the vehicle simply fell apart. Nariko flicked her hand, and a pool of darkness appeared beneath some of the Stone Army, which plunged into it. She then shut it again, leaving a completely blank stretch of sand.

"What was that?"

"Portal to the void," Nariko said simply, before kicking one of the Stone Army Warriors in the stomach, sending them flying into the water.

Jay sent lightning at one of the vehicles, short circuiting it. He grabbed Hikari's hand as she charged, and a blast of lightning exploded through the sky, sending a whip crack of thunder through the air and blasting the Stone Army while leaving the ninja completely unscathed.

"We need more evil!" the Overlord rasped, "but where to attack next?"

He then smiled evilly. "Ninjago City.."

Sensei Wu smacked the Stone Warrior holding one of the dark capsules, caught the capsule, and heaved it over to Jay. "Jay!"

Hikari had rushed over someplace else, and Jay swung his sword like a baseball bat and sent it flying somewhere into the water. "That one's out of the ball park!"

"SEE TO IT PERSONALLY THAT THE CANNON IS LOADED!" the Overlord screeched to one of the Stone Warriors, who charged over to Sensei Wu. Sensei Wu dodged and then knocked him into the cannon loading dock, where he fell in and the loading dock shut.

The Overlord hit the button and sent the Stone Warrior flying, making the ninja all laugh a bit. "Well, he _did_ load the cannon," Nariko snarked through her cackles, and Hikari was giggling so hard that she had to cover her mouth.

"Look out Jay!" Kai suddenly shouted, and they dodged out of the way and onto the weapon itself as the guns fired at them, and kicking the Stone Warrior who was controlling it off. "Sorry, only two can dance this dance!"

Jay Spinjitzued onto the ground and knocked most of the warriors away, Kai firing the gun at the random vehicles that tried to help their comrades. But Lloyd and Hikari jumped into the weapon and walked towards the Overlord as purposefully as they could. "This ends now!" Lloyd shouted.

"All of this time... has led up to this," Hikari said simply.

"Stupid children! I have been planning this for thousands of years!" the Overlord roared.

Hikari shrugged. "Well plans don't always work out."

"Eat your greens!" Lloyd shouted, firing a bolt of light at the Overlord and knocking him back. Cole cheered something, but Lloyd and Hikari were focusing more on the Overlord, who was standing up... his hands were glowing purple...

Hikari fired a beam of darkness that acted as a shield, absorbing the darkness before exploding against the side, and Hikari and Lloyd jumped away as the Overlord punched them.

Lloyd and Hikari tumbled across the sand roughly and ended up with Lloyd on top of Hikari. Hikari helped him up and smiled at him, before turning to face the Overlord, who was summoning a beam of power with all four of his hands.

The two of them fired back, ending up with a mixed purple-and-green beam of light at the Overlord's, meeting in the very center.

The Overlord suddenly stopped and fired another blast, making Lloyd and Hikari roll out of the way and reconvene, charging sideways, before firing another beam that hit the Overlord directly, and sent him flying backwards into the trees.

"Yes!" Jay cheered, but the Overlord's figure shot into the air, his bottom hands glowing.

"No!" Jay groaned.

The Overlord swooped towards them, but Hikari jumped in front of Lloyd-

Both of them were sent flying so that they landed at the water's edge, Lloyd groaning as he sat back up.

"The battle for good and evil," the Overlord snarled, "I can do this for eternity... but can YOU?" he pointed mainly at Lloyd. Hikari waved, glaring at him. "Hey! What am I, chopped liver?"

"Join my side, and you can have all you want," the Overlord crooned persuasively. "You can have your parents back, you can bend reality so that you have what you want! You know that is what you truly want!"

Hikari hesitated, before suddenly shaking her head and plugging her ears with her fingers. "Nope. Can't hear you!" she yelled, at the top of her lungs, making a sudden desire to laugh spring up in Lloyd's throat, "Nope, nope, NOPE! OH SAY CAN YOU SEE..."

Lloyd snickered before clearing his throat. "I'm not alone in this! I have Hikari!" Hikari, seeing it was safe, gingerly removed her hands, as he continued, "and my father is still in you! He won't fight with me!"

The face shrank back, and the eyes were red again. "Lloyd...!" he groaned, reaching out, before his face changed back to the Overlord's, "You must destroy...!"

"Fool," the Overlord sneered over Garmadon's fading voice, "you cannot defeat me!"

Lloyd and Hikari both fired a beam of light, mixing back into purple-green, and sent the Overlord flying. Hikari charged forward and kicked him in the chest, knocking him back, and when he stood back up Lloyd blasted him backwards several steps, a shock of purple light flying from him. "We can try!" they shouted in sync.

The Overlord laughed and threw beams of violet light from his hands, and Hikari and Lloyd mixed their beams of light again, making a battle of light in the center of the beach, with the Overlord's maniacal laughter ringing in their ears.

"Fight him, Father!" Lloyd screamed at the Overlord.

Garmadon momentarily flickered into the Overlord's place, his face shrinking back and his hands growing less gnarled. "Lloyd!" he shouted, before the Overlord replaced him again.

"Fight him!" Lloyd screamed again. Hikari added in, "Do it for Lloyd! Fight him, please!"

The Overlord and Garmadon began to toggle, making the both of them dizzy. "You... will not take... _my son..._!" he screamed out, in a mix of the two voices, before suddenly Garmadon disappeared. The Overlord had a wicked sneer on his face as he leered at them. "Your father," he gloated to Lloyd, "is GONE!"

And then he fired another, stronger beam of light, but not at Hikari.

Hikari's eyes widened. "No... LLOYD-!" she screamed, just as the beam of light caught Lloyd and threw him across the beach.

Hikari let out another scream and ran to him, sprinting so fast that she managed to reach him before even his parents did. "No- Lloyd! _Lloyd!_ " she screamed, leaning over him as a terrified sob tore at her throat.

"Lloyd!" Sensei Wu shouted, and Misako screamed as she rushed over, "My son!"

The cannon swiveled to Lloyd, Misako, and Wu, as the Overlord let out yet another wicked laugh.

Hikari lifted her arms, ready to block the shot of Dark Matter he was about to shoot, when suddenly the Bounty soared in front, the Dark Matter crashing over it.

Dr. Julien sprinted over and jumped, and Hikari sent a blast of ice desperately. It made a quick slide that deposited him safely on the ground. He grinned at her sheepishly, glasses lopsided. "That went well."

The Overlord was shouting something, but Hikari focused her attention on Lloyd, even as a swirling vortex formed. She could sense how close he was to dying, but she gripped his arms as tightly as she could without hurting him, eyes welling up with tears. "Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon," she said, firmly, "you are _not_ dying on me... you're not-"

Her voice broke as the ninja came over, slowly, looking defeated.

Lloyd's head slowly shifted, and relief flooded through her as he looked at them, sitting up slowly. Hikari choked back a sob of pure relief, feeling terrified and joyous and shattered all at the same time. "Did we...?" he asked, his eyes focusing, and Hikari lunged forward and hugged him, briefly, before letting go of him again and wiping her eyes furiously.

"Did we win?" Lloyd asked, sounding bewildered, as Hikari looked as though she wanted to tackle him in another hug. Sensei Wu shook his head. "No. But you're alive."

Lloyd stared, trying to get up. "But- the prophecy-"

"Easy kid!" Jay said, sounding worried, "you've been through a lot!"

Lloyd stared again before looking at Hikari. He extended his arms slightly and awkwardly-

Hikari hugged him again tightly. "How do you think I would've felt-" Hikari choked, "if my-" For a moment, _crush, love,_ and _beloved_ danced tantalizingly on her tongue; she swallowed it back and choked out, "if my best friend died and I was left?"

For a moment, Lloyd's face looked- disappointed? And then he seemed to be deep in thought. "... Destiny showed us who was stronger today... but destiny also wanted us around to fight another day. We didn't lose the battle. Today, we just lost the fight."

 _And I didn't lose you_ , Hikari added to herself silently.

 **A/N: Next chapter is the final battle, guys! Who's hyped for that? I know I am!**

 **The Overlord has gone to Ninjago City with Nya, and the ninja, Misako, Sensei Wu, and Dr. Julien are stuck on the Dark Island! Will Hikari and Lloyd be able to defeat the Overlord next chapter, without Hikari succumbing to the Overlord?**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: Thanks, good to know :)**

 **Greenninjaisbae: You're getting that next chapter!**

 **Quotev:**

 **LovelyLife: I actually put a bit of that in as a joke, but now I'm considering making it more canon in this story... I dunno, what do you all think?**

 **Hailey is kawaii for a week: Thanks!**

 **Elaine Smith: Hey, thanks! Yep, you're right, it's a mystery (wiggles fingers) And thank you!**

 **cookiecat567: (grins)**

 **CrystalSong11: Haha, first Llokari, now Kairiko. More ships, that's exactly what this story needs :)**

 **Painted Wings: Hikari is wearing more of a ninja gi like the others, but don't look at that for reference yet because her outfit changes a bit next chapter and then the chapter immediately afterwards, so... unless you want to do an old fanart?**

 **Leah2306: Haha, yeah, Nariko is a sarcastic one. Thank you!**

 **MCianEnder: Hehe, yep, I am doing all the seasons of Ninjago. :) So hold out for that.**

 **Wattpad:**

 **None, once again.**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	26. Chapter 26

"Can I still fight?" Lloyd was asking, as Dr. Julien bandaged his leg. Hikari was watching as Nariko waited with the ninja without her usual sarcastic manner.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Julien replied, shaking his head, "that leg will take weeks to heal."

Lloyd looked at him, worried. "We don't have weeks!"

He bit his lip in pain as Dr. Julien continued bandaging his leg. Several feet away, the ninja, Sensei Wu, Misako and Nariko were speaking. "The final battle between good and evil will be decided today," Sensei Wu said with a sigh.

"And we can't even GET to the fight!" Kai snapped, "much less get off this island."

He moodily chucked a rock into the water, as Jay sadly sighed. "I wonder if I'll ever get to see Nya again..."

Zane put a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps it's best to think of our friends as how we remember them in our hearts... not as they are now."

Lloyd hobbled over, one arm wrapped over Hikari's shoulder. Even with these grim situations, the two teenagers couldn't help but blush a little at having so much of their bodies in contact with one another.

"But... I don't remember my father any other way," Lloyd responded, as Hikari shifted her weight subtly so that Lloyd was more comfortable.

"Your father loved you," Misako put in, "it was the evil of the Great Devourer that corrupted him."

"Sensei," Kai picked up, "I don't understand. The prophecy said the Green and Purple Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord." He threw another rock, which skipped across the water's surface. "Why didn't we win?"

"I... don't know," Sensei Wu said simply.

"Don't know? But you're SENSEI! You always know! You have a white beard!" Jay protested in a splutter.

Nariko took a deep breath and sighed. "Well... I mean... good can't always win on the first try. I mean, if you did, there would be no evil, would there?" Even saying this she sounded rather tired.

Kai shook his head slightly. "There must be... some message to learn," he said, "a lesson... a word of wisdom! Just a word? Something!"

"For once, I'm afraid there is nothing to learn. Only that... evil has won," Sensei Wu said with a sigh.

"Well, if Sensei doesn't have a lesson," Lloyd huffed, "I think Hikari and I do."

He and Hikari walked a few feet away, slowly. "I used to be nothing but trouble, and then Hikari and I met you guys! You took us in. Showed me the importance of being brave..."

"The importance of being strong," Hikari agreed, "and most importantly, for Lloyd mostly but for me as well, being good."

"When this battle first began," Lloyd said, "the First Spinjitzu Master fought the Overlord, and had his back against the wall, and he knew it was all over, did he QUIT?"

"Nope," Hikari picked up again, "he found some way to keep the fight going. He passed his elemental powers to all of us! Us, of all people, a bunch of teenagers who can't even control their tempers, sometimes, let alone some of the most powerful elements!"

Nariko let out a bark of laughter as Lloyd continued, "But there must have been a reason he chose us. I'd like to think it's because he knew we would never back down, we'd never give up! We know the ancient ways of the ninja-"

"And ninja never quit!" Hikari finished. She had this determined look on her face as her eyes sparkled.

Kai nodded. "They're right- if that means we have to swim the sea in order to get off this island- well- then so be it!" He started wading into the water, very reluctantly and slowly.

"The ENTIRE ocean? ... but I didn't bring my floaties," Jay whimpered.

"Well, if you've got a better plan..." Cole suggested.

Zane shrugged from behind Jay. "I don't- but he may."

The falcon swooped down, and Hikari felt a big smile spread across her face as it swooped over the ground. Dr. Julien gasped with a grin. "The falcon! It must've found something!"

* * *

"It brought us back to the Temple of Light," Zane said, sounding puzzled, "I do not understand. We've already been here."

"This location... I've seen this before," Misako stated, "I just... never understood it..."

After a moment's pause, they walked into the temple. Hikari was exploring the darker areas, in case there was something she missed, when she spotted something. If she came to this corner... yes...

The corner revealed a small tunnel.

Hikari looked back before gently slipping in. Wandering down the tunnel for a few minutes, she found a stone button with a glowing, violet symbol. It looked a bit like a small skull (although if it was, it was a very cute one).

Hikari regarded it before touching it, and then gently pushing it.

The purple light began to creep up her arm, with this strangely familiar feeling. Hikari hesitated, before shutting her eyes and letting it swarm over her.

A moment later, it faded, both the feeling and the purple light. Hikari looked at her arms, but it was too dark to truly see anything in the dark tunnel, so she doubled back to the entrance.

"I think I found something..." Kai turned back to the others, and his voice drifted off. Everyone turned to see Hikari coming out of the wall... except she looked different.

She wore what appeared to be a silvery purple kimono, except it only reached up to her knees. Beneath that she wore a pair of black shorts, and her sleeves seemed to glow slightly, with an internal, violet-and-silver light. It had a sort of V-neck, and beneath that there was a black shirt. Her shoes were black, leather boots, and she had a purple flower in her hair.

She blinked at them all and their gaping expressions. Then she looked down at herself and yelped. "Holy cannoli! What in the world?" She patted herself down, staring at her clothing.

Then she looked back up and blinked. "Lloyd, why is your nose bleeding?"

Lloyd blinked and touched his nose... and then his eyes widened and his cheeks turned red as he tried to stem the flow of blood. "N-no reason! The air's dry I guess! Haha!" He leaned forward and pinched his nose shut, still unable to take his eyes off of her. "Y-you look nice in that," he said, a little nasally now.

Hikari blinked, then looked down at her outfit. "Oh... really? You think so?" she asked, puzzled.

"Hm, power of the dark side of the First Spinjitzu Master," Nariko said casually.

Kai opened his mouth, before waving it off. "Never mind that now- you can tell us all about how you got the new outfit after we defeat the Overlord. But anyway, I think I found something- it's just like the map!"

He slowly slid his sword into the slot, which made it glow.

"There's one more, over here," Sensei Wu said, pointing at one of the pillars.

"And here!" Dr. Julien added. Misako took a look at the last pillar and said, in wondering amazement, "And over here!"

The ninja all drew their elemental blades, and approached their respective pillars, before sliding it into the slots. The ground began to glow, and the part where Lloyd and Hikari stood on to receive their powers slid away, and a huge, old robotic thing rose out of the ground.

"It is the battlesuit the First Spinjitzu Master used, when he was fighting the Overlord!" Misako said, in wonder.

Hikari put her hand on her chin. "Well, if it worked for the First Spinjitzu Master, it should work for Lloyd- after all, he IS related to him," she said, thoughtfully.

Lloyd approached the armor, a small smile on his face. "It's worth a shot."

It took quite a bit of shuffling, and Hikari had to help him, but he finally managed to crawl into the seat, toggling one lever. "Hmmm... nothing!" he called, just as it started to glow gold.

"Woah," Hikari breathed, as the whole suit started to gleam with a golden light. "All right!" Cole cheered.

"Killer," Kai added.

"Amazing!" Zane agreed.

"How does the leg feel now?" Sensei Wu asked, craning his neck to see his nephew properly. A burst of fire shot from the leg as Lloyd- and the suit- lifted its right leg. "Stronger!" he grinned.

"Well," Misako said, sounding very proud of her son, "I know how he is getting to Ninjago. But what about us?"

Hikari shrugged. "I know I can ride with Lloyd."

"Heck yeah you can!"

A low roar from outside, and Jay turned to look at the doorway. "I know that sound... it's our dragons!" he yelled, a silly grin coming over his face.

"I think," Sensei Wu said, a slow smile coming over his face, "that we just found our way off this rock!"

* * *

Hikari clung to Lloyd and the suit as it soared in the air next to the Ultra-Dragon, through the clouds.

"I see Ninjago!" Kai shouted, "we're not that far away!"

"Are you sure that's Ninjago?" Cole asked, squinting at the purplish glow through the thick cloud cover.

Lloyd plunged straight down, Hikari having to hug him tightly from behind. Lloyd had to smile a little before his face went back to being deadly serious, as they broke through the clouds to see a huge skyscraper with a glowing roof, and the city looking as if it had rotted to pure black.

"What is that thing?" Kai asked, staring at the skyscraper.

"Garmatron," was Sensei Wu's grave answer.

Misako gazed at the huge building. "It's turned into a fortress."

"But where's the Overlord?" Dr Julien asked, curiously.

Lloyd didn't answer, just swooped down to land.

They all plunged to the ground, and the ninja hopped off and peered around the corner to see people trudging through the streets. Nariko's brows were furrowed.

"He's turned everyone evil," Kai whispered, his scar contracting a little bit as his eyes narrowed.

"And now they're working for his cause," Cole hissed back, before punching his fist into his palm. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he gets a load of us!"

A low roar made the streets shake as a huge, billowing cloud of darkness plummeted towards them.

Hikari and Nariko stepped forward automatically and threw up a dark shield, making the street hiss and ooze purple as the Dark Matter splashed down.

"Is that the look you were hoping for?" Zane asked, sounding bemused.

"Zane- no," Jay said, sharply.

"The metamorphosis is complete," Misako said gravely, "the Overlord's changed into his original form."

"Well, unless you all want to be turned evil or blasted into little pieces, we most certainly cannot fly up there," Nariko remarked, a hint of her usual sardonic manner tinging her voice. Hikari frowned and looked up. "Yeah, I don't fancy trying to get up there without getting injured..."

"We have my father's Golden Mech," Sensei Wu said pointedly, gesturing at the mech with his sword, "we have to draw their fire so that Lloyd can use the mech against the Overlord and Hikari can help defeat him."

Cole nodded firmly. "We hear ya, loud and clear!"

* * *

Nariko perched on the back of the dragon, staying utterly silent as they flew towards the bottom of the huge skyscraper, the shadow making everything on their side look even darker than the now practically blackened landscape.

She was privately worrying about her own fate. What happened if Lloyd and Hikari did win? Would the purification of Ninjago purify Nariko too, and kill her? Or would it simply injure her?

Nariko looked down. She could see her reflection in the dragon's polished scales, with her worried red eyes and her black hair-

She blinked in surprise as she looked down at her reflection. For a moment, her features looked... somewhat... different than Hikari's, especially her bangs and her skin, which was pale and normal looking. She blinked again, and it was back to normal.

She rolled her eyes. Great. Life-threatening mission, and she was possibly hallucinating.

"Look out Sensei!" Cole suddenly shouted, and Nariko suddenly found herself very nearly fell off the dragon altogether as the Ultra-Dragon did a barrel roll to avoid the flaming catapults. As it was, she seized Kai's hand in a desperate attempt to not fall and hurt herself and was fairly sure by the sudden, pained yelp he gave that she'd nearly yanked it out of its socket.

"OW!" he yelped, and Nariko kicked to maneuver herself back and forth to avoid getting hit with one of the flaming projectiles, before suddenly crashing back onto the back of the dragon as it turned right-side-up again. "Sorry Kai!" she apologized.

"No problem!" Kai squeaked in pain.

He then paused. "Hey..."

Nariko arched her eyebrows. "What? What is it?" she asked, a bit distracted.

"It's nothing, it's just... well, you called me by my name," Kai said, what looked like the beginnings of a grin of his face.

Nariko blinked, and then her face flushed a darker shade of gray. "I most certainly did not, Firefly," she huffed slightly, glancing away awkwardly in a way that said 'yep, I'm totally lying.'

Fire arrows pelted at them suddenly, and the dragon swooped up, making Nariko, who hadn't established a proper grip, lunge forward and practically yank Kai's hair as she scrambled to get a better seat.

"They will never let Lloyd get close!" Misako exclaimed, as Kai gingerly rubbed his head and arm alternately and Nariko apologized without calling him 'Firefly' again. "Then we need to get close," Sensei Wu said, looking down at the Stone Army.

* * *

Hikari sat on Lloyd's Golden Mech shoulder, as he walked through the streets. "How's the leg?" Hikari asked, concerned.

Lloyd glanced at her. "What? Oh. It's better with this thing," he said, smiling slightly at her. She smiled back before letting out a little chuckle. "Remember when our only worry was looking for my house?"

He chuckled a little as well, before glancing at her. "You're ready?"

"I'm ready," she confirmed. He still waited to make sure her grip was nice and firm on the mech before breaking into a run, and waving his huge sword. "Time to bring out the big guns!"

He smashed down the barricade, and the Stone Army started flooding towards them. Lloyd swept the sword and knocked a good deal of them aside, and then shouted, "NINJA-"

A blast of laser-fire hit him, knocking off the sword arm. They looked up at Nya's wicked laughter, and Hikari bit her lip. "Well... she most certainly has the advantage here," she hummed, "both in positioning, since she's above us, and in fighting, because she can hurt us while we can't."

More laser-fire, and the Golden Mech toppled over backwards, making Hikari have to jump into the air to keep from injuring herself.

The Stone Army kept approaching, and Hikari's eyes glowed purple as Lloyd scrambled backwards in fear. "Leave my friends..." Now her fists followed. "And this city..." And now the purple glow was growing more intense, "ALONE!" she screamed the last part and swept her hand out in front of her.

Deadly icicles speared them in the legs and made them roar in pain, the ground suddenly erupted at odd angles, leaving walls and barriers that the Stone Army had to move around, ghostly flames erupted and made the Stone Army balk, and a bolt of black lightning blasted them, jumping around the first few. By the time the ninja got down with their elemental blades, the majority of the Stone Army was either trying to get rid of the things that were plaguing them or trying to get over to Hikari, whose eyes were dying back down to normal silvery gray, with Lloyd staring at her with an open mouth.

"Not bad," Nariko whistled as Lloyd began to get back up. "I'm... I'm okay!"

"Yeah," Jay agreed, "but are we?"

A huge, inky missile plummeted towards them, and Zane raised his Elemental Blade. "Ice!"

A wall of ice rose and gracefully arced over them, so that the missile simply splashed rather harmlessly on the ice. "Nice one, Zane," Hikari said, smiling warmly.

Nya started blasting the ice with her lasers, so that suddenly the wall exploded into ice shards, forcing the ninja to duck a bit as large chunks of ice went flying over their heads. "FIRE!" Kai shouted, and blasted the thing with fire, which made an explosion so bright that everyone cringed away.

Nariko whistled casually again. "Not bad, K- Firefly."

Kai grinned slightly again, before they had to back into a circle, blocking sword hits and other things. "I know we always attracted a crowd, but this is ridiculous," Jay said sarcastically, smacking one away.

Nariko snorted as Kai grunted, shoving one Stone Warrior back, "How can you be making jokes at a time like this?"

"Hey, if I'm going down, might as well go down laughing," Jay said casually.

"If this really is how we're going to go down," Zane said, quietly, "I'm proud to be fighting alongside my brothers."

"Hear, hear!" Cole said enthusiastically as he blocked again.

Nariko had brought out an obsidian sword and was blocking and parrying as well, sending sparks flying as she didn't hold back as much. "I've never had a family. Closest thing is Hikari," she said simply, "but if I had to name some people as my family, it will be you guys. It doesn't really matter to me that you fight for light and I for darkness anymore. As long as we fight at each other's side. After all, light and darkness together make up the balance."

"That was surprisingly poetic, coming from you," Jay remarked. Nariko smirked again, "Well it's the truth, is it not?"

Kai smiled back at Nariko slightly. For a moment, the smirk softened... then it doubled back as she bonked one of the Stone Warriors on the head with the hilt of her sword. "Ha ha! That's what you get!" she taunted, before twisting her blade and knocking the Stone Warrior's blade away. She darted forward, stole it off the ground, and held it in her other hand. "Now I get to have some fun!" she said, grinning in a way that made the other ninja scoot away from her a little bit.

"Keep fighting!" Lloyd yelled, as Nariko did a spin attack and knocked more Stone Warriors away, "Never give up!"

"A ninja never quits!" Hikari agreed, before all of them (bar Nariko, who still did her spin attack) shouted, "NINJA-GO!" and spun into their Spinjitzu tornadoes, lighting up the darkness a little bit as they sent the Stone Army flying, until a blast of light suddenly blasted into them and knocked them all down. On the ground, they blocked more hits, as Jay whimpered, "This is the end, guys!"

A moment passed as the Stone Army raised their swords, and then they struck-

And froze in place.

Hikari and Nariko stared at the Stone Army, who looked as though they'd suddenly turned into statues with how still they'd become. Then their eyes met with the others. A short silence reigned.

"What"

"in"

"the"

"world?!" Hikari, Lloyd, Nariko, and Kai all yelled in turn.

One of the Warriors (the main one, they'd noticed) waved one of his four swords. "All hail the Brown Ninja!" he bellowed, "what do you command?"

Hikari slowly started to smile. "Brown Ninja?" she asked, slowly. Nariko's smirk was getting bigger.

"What's up, fellas?" Dareth asked casually, wearing the elaborate Helmet of Darkness as the Ultra-Dragon descended, "looks like we all know who's in command now!"

"The helmet controls the army!" Cole realized, "well done!"

Jay's eyes widened and looked at the others, who all turned to look at him as well. "Oh! That means now we stand a fighting chance!"

"We need to get to the top of that fortress," Hikari said, pointing at herself, then Lloyd, then up.

Hikari smiled at the others. "With your guys help, I know we can do this."

Nariko raised her obsidian blade, and they all raised them as they all said, triumphantly, "NINJA-GO!" All the blades, except for Nariko's, glowed, as if reunited somehow.

Dareth stared at the swords in awe. "Where'd you get those?" he asked, goggling at them, "I want one!"

Kai hesitated, before smiling at Dareth. "You too, Brown Ninja. Today, you're one of us," and he held the sword out to an ecstatic looking Dareth, "Shall we do it once more? Just for old time's sake?"

"Ninja-GO!" Dareth said, proudly, and Hikari grinned at him. "Dareth, we owe you big. Thank you," she said, empathetically.

Dareth grinned at her goofily before pointing with the sword. "Army! About face!"

The Stone Army turned, and he said, loudly, "Stone Army... GO!" The army started charging up the stairs in an unorganized mess, getting shot off by Nya, who was cackling.

"You'll need this back," Dareth said, handing it back to Kai. Nariko stepped over to Hikari. "Hikari, I'm going to stay with Dareth, try to draw Nya's laser fire with the Stone Army as long as we can," she said firmly, "we'll need all the help we can get."

Hikari bit her lip, before nodding. "If... if you're sure."

Nariko nodded, before tentatively stepping forward and hugging her. It felt very stiff and odd for both of them, and when they finally released each other both of them stared at one another, before Nariko nodded with a little smile. "Do me a favor, kick the Overlord in the face for me."

Hikari let out a grim laugh. "I might not get the chance, but sure."

The Ultra Dragon swooped into the air, drawing the laser-fire to it, when suddenly one blast singed the wing. "We've been hit!" Misako shouted.

"We have to land!" Sensei Wu said, "this is as far as we can go."

Hikari bowed to the three elders, who waved back, before holding her hand out to Lloyd. "What do you say? One more time?"

Lloyd smiled before putting his arm around her, and Cole put his arm around Lloyd, and the six of them set off for the roof. They were making pretty good time in the distraction the elders had caused, too.

"Look out!" Jay yelled suddenly, and Hikari pulled Lloyd back, as Cole's grip slackened, and a dark missile landed right on top of him.

"Cole, get up!" Lloyd cried, in worry, and Cole groaned, shuddering. "I'm hit! Go on... without me!"

Hikari put her hand on his shoulder for a moment, before the remaining five started hobbling up the stairs as fast as possible. "We've got to get going as fast as possible!" Kai shouted. They made it a bit farther up when Jay, who'd come to take hold of Lloyd to help him up the stairs faster, looked up.

He immediately shoved both Lloyd and Hikari away as dark smoke splashed down on him with a nasty hiss.

"JAY!" both Lloyd and Hikari yelled, and Zane and Kai looked back in alarm.

"Get out of the way!" Jay groaned, huddled on the staircase.

Kai and Zane came back now. "Don't look- just keep climbing!" And the remaining four did their best to move double-time up the staircase.

"Judging by the distance left to the top, my calculations are that only two of us will make it!" Zane said, from where he was now helping Hikari assist Lloyd. If Hikari looked down, the sheer drop to the ground was so far that the buildings beneath her looked like toys.

She decided not to look down.

"Then let's beat the odds!" Lloyd said, just as two sounds came from behind them. Jay and Cole brandished their blades at them, and Zane stopped. "Go on! I'll hold them back!" And he drew his sword and blocked the two hits as now only the three of them kept running, Kai helping Hikari help Lloyd.

Wicked cackles filled their ears, and Kai let out an exclamation. "Nya!" he cried out, as Nya kept laughing wickedly. Kai looked at Lloyd and Hikari. "I'm going to draw her fire, so you two can make it to the top," he said, determinedly.

Hikari looked at him for a moment, before nodding. "... stay safe. I don't think Nariko will be too pleased with me if you go and get yourself killed trying to protect me."

Kai tried not to look pleased and failed miserably.

He blocked off the fire as Lloyd opened his mouth to protest. Hikari looked at Lloyd and squeezed his shoulder. "I think even if we tried to tell ourselves otherwise, it was always just going to be just you, me, and the Overlord," she said, in a soft, sad voice.

Lloyd hesitated, before the two of them ran up the staircase, as Kai went and tried to disable the laser gun.

Hikari and Lloyd silently walked up the remainder of the stairs, stumbling every other step or so before reaching the top.

The Overlord looked like a huge dragon, with black wings, black scales, and glowing violet eyes that seemed to light up the sky. Hikari and Lloyd's hands tightened as they flipped on their hoods.

"We have come here to fight you!" Lloyd yelled, Hikari echoing the sentiment a tad late. "You're in no shape to fight," the Overlord snarled, "It's over, Green Ninja. Evil will win!"

"A ninja never quits!" Lloyd growled, Hikari nodding as the tugging in her gut grew more intense.

The Overlord sneered at Lloyd. "You don't even have a sword," he leered.

Lloyd and Hikari started to form spheres of energy, but Hikari stopped and dropped to her knees, shuddering. Lloyd looked down at her and she yelled, "Lloyd, don't worry about me right now, just use your energy a-as a shield!"

He let the energy expand, surrounding the two of them, as Hikari squinted her eyes shut as a violent purple flared into her eyes, flickering wildly while she shuddered.

"We don't need a sword!" Lloyd yelled up to the Overlord, who replied in an almost gloating voice, "Then all I have to say is... goodbye."

And a blast of purple fire poured from his mouth, but the shield held true, although it was being pushed back.

Hikari managed to shakily stand up, and create a weak shield as well, although the tugging in her gut was really painful now and her eyes were switching to violet and back off again as she did so.

The green shield expanded, floating into the air, and Hikari dropped to her knees, openmouthed in shock. "Lloyd?" she asked, her voice sounding very young and amazed right then. The green suddenly contracted, and Lloyd stood there, surrounded by now-gold sparkles and his gi having turned a luminous gold. It seemed a little lackluster, though, weak.

He said nothing, and blocked the Overlord's hits before knocking him off the roof. The Overlord used his wings to catch himself, and Hikari shuddered again as a huge gold dragon formed beneath Lloyd, looking very misty.

"You can't defeat me!" the Overlord snarled, "where there is light, there will ALWAYS be darkness!"

And with that, he circled Lloyd, mists of shadow rolling off of him and making everything around them turn to blackness.

Lloyd watched from within the ever-growing darkness as the Overlord turned to Hikari. "Join me, and you will rule over Ninjago! Forsake your friends, and you will be reunited with your parents again!"

Lloyd found himself holding his breath as Hikari stayed there, hands on the ground.

"At the beginning of my journey," she was speaking now, "I said that Lloyd was like the night-light in my room. And I meant it. Even when I found that I was the dark side of the elements, Lloyd was the thing that kept me there. He always saw the good in me, just as I always saw the good in everyone else. He is like my source of light on an eclipse. And I love the light."

She looked up, eyes glowing purple, and shining with a silvery tinge to it, somehow.

"If Lloyd was only a friend, I might be tempted to join you, and let the darkness take over me, like you want it to. But he isn't, Overlord."

Hikari took a deep breath before speaking again, albeit more quietly than before.

"I love him."

Lloyd stared as Hikari continued, "And because I love him, there is no way I will be able to ever lose myself in the darkness."

Her already rather silver kimono turned a luminous silver, with the shirt turning purple and everything else remaining exactly the same as she hovered into the air, a silver dragon forming beneath her. Lloyd's gi, and her kimono, started to shine incredibly bright.

"And because of that, evil will never win." And Hikari plunged towards the inky blackness and plunged straight in.

For a moment the Overlord stared as the darkness began to grow around the three of them, with Lloyd and Hikari sitting on their dragons in front of him.

Then light began to shine out from both of them, and their dragons, gold and silver alike.

"NO!" the Overlord roared, as the light turned blinding. "NO! NO! NO!"

Just as the darkness grew to the largest point, a gold-and-silver spark flashed out, and from the ground where the skyscraper had previously stood, only stone remained, and pure light spread through it, as though a spotlight had suddenly flashed on.

* * *

"Where's Lloyd?" Kai asked, looking around slightly, "a-and Hikari?"

His eyes widened a little. "And... where's Nariko?"

"Here," and everyone turned to a slightly shorter girl than Hikari. She had different bangs, and normal skin, and her outfit was a plain, white t-shirt and jeans. But when she looked up, what drew everyone in was her ever-so-familiar red eyes.

Kai almost choked as he started, eyes widening. "Nariko?"

Nariko blinked down at her hands. "I'm... still alive?" she said softly, turning her hands over and examining them carefully.

A roar, and everyone turned to see a gold and silver dragon, one with Lloyd on it and the other dragon with Hikari, descending from the clear blue sky.

The two of them jumped off the dragons as the others chorused, "Lloyd! Hikari!"

Lloyd stopped and turned to Hikari. "Hey, Hikari?"

"Hm?"

"What you said... up there? When you were facing the Overlord?"

Hikari's cheeks turned rather pink. "Oh... you heard that?"

Lloyd nodded confirmation, and Hikari looked down. "I-it's okay if you don't f-feel the same way... a-as long as we can stay friends, th-that would be okay for me, honest," she eked out, "you and I don't have to-"

"Hikari."

Hikari looked up at Lloyd, who had moved forward so that their chests were almost touching. "Yeah?" she asked, as he stared at her. He stared at her evenly for what felt like forever but was really only ten seconds before leaning in and putting his lips to hers.

Hikari froze before she closed her eyes and the two of them stood there like that for a moment, pressing their lips together gently, before Lloyd leaned away and smiled at her, incredibly softly. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that."

Hikari felt a little smile creep onto her face... a brighter expression lit up in her eyes...

And then her cheeks flushed. "Oh. Um..." the two of them turned with a sheepish expression to the others, who were all watching with deadpan faces. "Um... hehe..."

"... it's about time." Everyone, even Misako and Sensei Wu, flatly told them, although it was a bit obvious some of them were fighting grins on their faces. Except for Zane. That guy had a perfect poker face.

"You two were brilliant," Misako said warmly to the two of them, as they stood there. Hikari tilted her head slightly and barely touched the top of her head to his cheek as Sensei Wu said, smiling, "Because of you two, Ninjago is safe. Because of you two, there will be a tomorrow."

"Speaking of which," Nariko and Kai chorused, and Nariko glanced at Kai. "Oh- no, you go first," she said, quickly.

"No no, I'm sure what you want to say is more important. You go first."

"No, really, it's nothing, you can go first."

"Ladies first."

"That means you're first."

"Hey!" Kai swiped at her half-heartedly as she cackled and dodged sideways, and then said, "But really, you go first, it's really nothing."

Nariko rolled her eyes at the boy but turned to Hikari. "Why was it that I wasn't destroyed along with the Overlord and the rest of the darkness?"

Hikari squinted at her. "The funny part about that... you're not darkness anymore. You seem like a genuine human being. I think what happened is that you found your own light, somehow, and even though the darkness was purged from you... the light part of you somehow remained. I don't know how that works, and I don't think I want to, ever- sounds like it'd give me a headache."

Nariko flexed her hands. "Yeah, I can't form darkness anymore... though I can still do a wicked dual-blade attack if I want to." Everyone chuckled, before Nariko glanced at Hikari. "So... what now? For me, at least. I mean... I don't have a family-"

"Are you kidding? You're like an annoying younger sister that I never had," Hikari teased. "You can have my last name if you really want it."

Nariko's eyes lit up. "So... I'll be kinda like your sister?"

Hikari's teasing expression softened. "Yeah. You'll be exactly like my sister."

Nariko's lips twitched before settling into a big, warm, happy smile. "... thanks, sis," she said softly. Hikari grinned, before Nariko looked back at Kai. "So what were you going to say?"

"Yeah- speaking of tomorrow, if the Overlord ever wants to show his face again, we'll be ready," Kai said, grinning.

"But next time," Cole picked up, smiling benignly, "we'll be a little more humble."

Zane smiled and said, sounding amused, "And a little more wise."

"And with better catchphrases!" Jay said cheerfully, making everyone laugh.

Lloyd smiled, but then he wilted a little. Misako noticed her son's head tilting downwards as Hikari's eyebrows knit in worry, and she came over. "We will all miss your father."

A few feet behind them, there was the sound os breaking, shifting rock, and they all turned to see an old man with gray hair and black clothing stumbling towards them. "Lloyd," he said, in a pained voice.

Hikari blinked. "G... Garmadon?" she asked, sounding rather puzzled. He sounded a little like Lord Garmadon... but he certainly did not look like him.

"Is it... really you?" Misako asked, reaching out and stalling as if afraid he was some sort of a hallucination.

"Dad?" Lloyd asked, and Hikari released him as he ran over to the man. "DAD!" he hugged the man tightly, and Hikari beamed. "I'm happy to say that every ounce of venom and evil that might've been in his blood is completely gone," she said to Lloyd, as Misako went over to her husband, her eyes brimming with happy tears.

Lord-... Garmadon, looked wondering. "I feel... good! Ha!" he laughed a bit, "it's been so long!"

"Good to have you back, brother," Sensei Wu said kindly, and Garmadon's eyes, which were more of a dark brown than anything, lit up at the sight of his brother. "Wu! Good to be be back!" he said, approaching his brother.

Garmadon approached Hikari, making her blink. "Ah, and my son's... girlfriend," and a mischievous spark lit up in his eyes. Hikari raised her eyebrow at Lloyd. "Now I see where you get your penchant for pranking," she said, teasingly, before a more inquisitive look came onto her face. "Are we... um... you know..."

Lloyd laughed this time. "Yes, we're dating."

Hikari's face lit up. "Yay!" she ran over and hugged him again, and he laughed a bit. She released him and pushed him over in the direction of his father. "Now go have some family time, you!"

Lloyd grinned at her and went off with his father and mother, as Jay said, warmly, "Aww, who'd have ever thought we'd see the day? Should we dog-pile 'em?"

Hikari laughed. "Jay Walker! You would not interrupt their family time!" she managed through her giggles.

"Yeah, let's let them have their moment," Kai agreed, before glancing at Nariko. "They earned it," Nariko agreed.

"Yeah, that was quite a ride," Cole said, reminiscently. Zane looked at him, "Do you think there'll be more?"

"I hope so!" Cole said enthusiastically, "I liked being a ninja! It's not like we have many other skills."

Hikari was about to say something when Misako came back, the mischievous spark they'd seen usually in Lloyd's eyes lighting up. "Hikari, I think you should come spend time with us. After all, you're going to have us as your family-in-law soon," she teased.

Laughter exploded from the group as Hikari's face turned six shades of red, but she ran to catch up with Lloyd, who slipped an arm around her. Nariko finished snickering and said, "We've all come a long way. And there's no reason we won't be able to use what we've learned in our everyday lives. Who knows?"

"We may have gotten the balance right today," Kai agreed, "but there's always tomorrow. There's no way of knowing what's around the corner. As long as there's something worth fighting for, there's always a need for a ninja. And we'll be ready."

* * *

A/N: ANNND cut! Take five folks, that's a wrap! Season Two is officially finished!

Hikari and Lloyd have FINALLY gotten together after only twenty-five chapters of hinting, and it looks like Nariko's here to stay. Yay! (pumps fist) not to mention we finally realize where Lloyd got his habit of pranking people.

Nariko's new faceclaim is Konno Yuuki (because she is pretty dang awesome).

So, first: So far, in the story, the story's stuck pretty darn close to the original storyline, right? Well, from Season 3 onwards, there will be some minor and major changes. The essential storyline is still almost exactly the same, so don't go looking for whole new storylines, but there will be parts of the plot that are majorly different. The reason is because some of the seasons are... somewhat oddly written (no offense to the Ninjago writers at all! I just think there are a few seasons that could've gone much better if the writing had been tweaked). So there's that.

Next: Thank you, thank you to everyone who has bothered to read this story since I published it almost a year ago! It's been a fun ride, and I want to thank MMM, Shelly Marsh, and Michelle Rita especially on Fanfiction, who review almost every time I update this story. There are so many people on Quotev that I want to thank that I'm giving them this: every person who has ever reviewed on my story (this one, not the others) get a free fanart/art commission of their choice! As for Wattpad I am thanking Cristal Hillman and pinkninjagirl101 for being the only people to comment! Thank you all for getting me to this point! This is most definitely my longest story of all!

The responses to commenters from Chapter 25 (which got an OVERWHELMINGLY large number of reviews):

Fanfiction:

Michelle Rita: I don't really get it, what did Hikari do in Chapter 10? If Nariko didn't respect Hikari, Hikari would've ended up being Purple Swedish Fish because she wears purple and she likes Swedish Fish. Cole's eyes are a very dark brown and Zane's are silver.

Shelly Marsh: I hope you liked this chapter (and yes, Garmadon is a secret shipper, mwahaha).

MMM: Yes, yes, yes, and no. I hope you liked this chapter :)

Greenninjaisbae: Why did you almost cry? And I hope you like this story so far :)

Sandshrew Master 317: (wiggles fingers) You'll have to wait until I write it :)

Quotev:

LovelyLife: Haha, glad you like it xD

Luna the Eevee: The wait is over :)

Painted Wings: I think her outfit won't change that much, actually, it'll be remarkably the same, so you can go ahead and start drawing the clothes. But thank you for taking the time to make fanart! :)

Crystalsong11: Haha, yeah, I threw that in as a joke x3

Elemental Jedi wants to be a unicorn: The universe would shatter. And Lloyd would go skipping into My Little Pony. xD It wouldn't have worked anyway. You can't imagine how tempted I was to stick that in in the last part of this chapter tho

Wattpad:

pinkninja101: And she has admitted her feelz (bows)

I'll see you all next chapter in Season 3! (waves) Bye!

(Note: reason this is not in bold is because Fanfiction refuses to do it. So on Quotev and Wattpad it's bolded, on Fanfiction it's not.)

x.X. A.L. X.x


	27. Chapter 27: The Overlord Returns (Yay)

_The Ultimate Battle. A battle that would end all battles. Feels like ages ago._

 _After the Golden and Silver Ninja defeated the Overlord, much of Ninjago City was in ruin. It was a time to reflect on our past... and build for our future. Ninjago City soon became, 'New' Ninjago City. And it became the center of great technological advancement._

 _But without an enemy to fight, the age of the ninja came to an end._

 _"La da di, la da do-" Jay could be seen in the mirror sneaking up towards the shower curtain with the camera in his hands, one eye squinted shut as he peered through the camera. The singing suddenly cut off._

 _Kai jerked his head around a shower curtain with a shower cap on, his hair flattened beneath it, and most of his body hidden behind said shower curtain, glaring at Jay with water dripping off of his face. "Hey! How about a little privacy, you-"_

"Whoa!" Kai exclaimed as the class burst into laughter at the scene, "this isn't supposed to be here! Lights please," he called, and a student switched the lights back on as he fumbled the tape and dropped it on the floor. Another student exploded through the door, beaming as if he'd won the Nobel Prize. "Come quick! Mr. Zane's on the fritz!"

Zane was, indeed, as the student had so elegantly put it, 'on the fritz'. Electricity was crackling over him as the students laughed, when suddenly a huge whip-crack of lightning shocked everyone into silence, and the remote one of the girls was holding exploded. No one was hurt, but the girl did scream quite loudly and drop the smoking remains of it all over the floor.

"Whoops! Did _not_ mean to do that," a youngish voice said, and all the kids turned eagerly to see a tall, smiling girl wearing a silver kimono that only reached her knees. Her long hair reached most of the way down her back.

"Hikari!" they cheered, and practically jumped on her. As it was, Hikari still toppled over. She was laughing cheerfully though, and ruffled a few of the boy's hair (most of them gave her mooning gazes that she either pointedly or obliviously ignored) and hugged a few of the girls. "Hey! It's nice to see you!"

The bell rang, and the students went outside neatly. Zane smiled tiredly at Hikari. "The children really like you, do they not?" he asked, sounding exhausted. "And thank you for helping me."

"Haha, yep. I don't know why, though," Hikari said casually, running a hand through her hair and making it stand up wildly on end. "And no problem, you would've done the same. Well, I mean, you wouldn't have made the remote control explode, but..." she trailed off, making Zane chuckle a bit. "You're back a bit early."

"Yeah, Lloyd and I saw some reporters and split. Honestly, you think the Gold and Silver Ninjas dating would be a lot less interesting after TWO YEARS," Hikari sighed, "but... nope!"

"Yeah. They don't report on your dates anymore, though," Cole noted. Hikari grinned sheepishly. "That... would be because I bribed them that if they managed to not bother us during our dates I would give them an interview."

"Ah, is that so?"

"Yep." Hikari sighed again. "Honestly, though..."

Cole and Zane slid to the floor with a relieved sigh. "Recess- my favorite time of the day," Cole said running a hand through his wavy black hair and making it stick up. Hikari smirked at him. "That's what your students say," she responded.

"Touche," Cole agreed tiredly.

* * *

"All right!" Jay snapped, shutting the freezer, "who took my pudding cup?! My name was CLEARLY written on it!"

Cole gulped down the last few spoonfuls of pudding. "Well, I didn't see Motormouth on it," he said, teasingly. Hikari swallowed a spoonful of mango pudding and looked at Jay as he glared at Cole. "I'm telling the headmaster-"

"Leave me out of this," Sensei Wu called from where he was getting some tea, making Hikari very nearly choke into the pudding cup. "I'm on break too."

Kai chuckled as he rustled around in his bag. "Relax, Jay! You can have mine." And he tossed the pudding cup over, Jay catching it very easily, although he had a pout on his face. "But this isn't cold..."

Zane pressed a button on his arm and sprayed ice all over the pudding. Jay's expression lit up and he started eating pudding, as Hikari recovered from her laughing fit and went on eating her pudding. "Is anyone else annoyed by the fact that Lloyd and Hikari get to be the Golden and Silver Ninja, run around accepting awards, while WE'RE stuck here being teachers with no powers?" He let out a sad, little sigh. "I miss our Elemental Weapons..."

"I'd gladly trade," Hikari responded, looking up from her pudding cup, "you can have tabloids chase you all day hounding you and your significant other for interviews and comments while I get to play with children. And teach them, I guess."

The door opened, and Nariko popped in, running a hand through her hair. "Art wasn't as awful as usual," she remarked. She beelined straight to Kai and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Kai."

Kai's slight scowl lightened considerably. "Hey, Nari," he said, returning the kiss. The two of them had gotten together after six months of tentative flirting and were now a couple (to absolutely nobody's surprise. They got along like a house on fire (which is to say, pretty well). Hikari grinned as her sister flopped down next to her. "Hey-o, how was the award ceremony?" Nariko asked casually.

Hikari lowered the pudding cup thoughtfully, before stating kindheartedly, "Well, at least they didn't mess up my name. Usually people call me Hickory, not Hikari."

"That the best thing about it?"

"Honestly? Yes."

Nariko let out a bark of laughter as Nya strolled in through the other door, scowling. "Why is it when I teach I get the feeling that _none_ of the boys are listening?" she asked, a bit snappily.

Jay smiled at his girlfriend. "Hi, Miss Nya," he said, "I saved you some pudding." He extended the cup. Nya arched her eyebrow. "What did we talk about?"

"Oh! Right! Boundaries," Jay said, and Hikari looked up from her still-not-completely-finished pudding cup. "Nya, he's offering you pudding. Why are you turning that down?" she asked, rather innocently.

"Yeah, if Kai saved me some pudding, I'd eat it," Nariko chimed in. "Boundaries or not."

"I saved you some fish and chips," Kai offered, and Nariko practically lunged across the room. "Ooh! Gimme."

Kai popped one into her mouth, and Nariko beamed as she ate it. Hikari shook her head. "I should never have introduced Nariko to fish and chips," she joked, gently.

"Hey, 'd'you guys hear the news?" Nya asked.

All of the ninja perked up considerably. "There's trouble?" Kai asked, almost hopefully.

"Danger?" Jay asked.

"An emergency?" Zane questioned.

"Ooh! A new menace?" Cole asked, eagerly.

Nya shook her head. "No. We got clearance for a field trip!"

Nariko glanced up from where she was practically devouring the fish and chips as the ninja all groaned. "Not just any field trip," Nya added hastily, "a field trip to tour Borg Industries!"

Hikari looked up. "Oh! Borg Industries is nice. They have lots of cool gadgets." When everyone looked at her she shrugged again. "What? Lloyd and I were invited there one time. Big pain to keep the reporters away."

Jay beamed. "THE Borg Industries! As in the super-genius reclusive developer Cyrus Borg, inventor of the Hovercar and everything else cool in this world- ow!" The last word came from Zane gently kicking him in the literal butt area to stop his fanboying.

"Who cares about Cyrus Borg?" Kai asked, sounding tired, "If you ask me, people should concern themselves with the lessons of the PAST, not waste their time on the disposable fads of tomorrow-" he sighed when he realized only Nariko and Hikari were left- Hikari was still finishing up her pudding cup.

Nariko smiled and wrapped an arm around him, planting a kiss square on his lips this time. "And THAT is why you're the history teacher," she said, sounding incredibly mild. For a previously dark soul who'd been literally created from darkness, she could be very kind sometimes.

* * *

"Why can't we take Ultra-Dragon?" one of the children whined, "or the Ultra-Sonic Raider, or the Silver Ninja's dragon?"

"Third question first- it's reeeeaaaaally hard to make it solid enough for an odd twenty or so people," Hikari said mildly.

"And because none of them have these!" Cole brandished one of those microphones that are hooked up to the speaker system on buses. "Pretty cool, huh?" he spoke through the microphone, "I'm on a microphone! I am the MC- the Mighty Cole!"

Nariko smacked the back of his head gently as she squeezed into the seat next to Kai. "You, sir," she retorted, "are a huge dork."

The kids all groaned, and one of them mumbled, "Mr. Cole is the _worst_!"

"I heard that!" Cole said over the microphone. Hikari chuckled slightly as he hopped into a seat. Kai said, sounding a little excited, "So... we're really going back to the city. We haven't been there since.. um, you know."

"Yesterday is gone," Sensei Wu said rather sternly, "Tomorrow has not yet come. We only have today. Or else this offer expires!"

Hikari casually ducked down to the floor to stop herself from exploding with laughter as Sensei Wu said more cheerfully, "Get a move on, Nya!"

"Aye-aye, Sensei!" Nya agreed, and the bus puttered down the road into the city. After a few hours had passed (which they mostly passed by singing '99 Bottles of Non-Alcoholic Beer'), they arrived in the city. Hikari looked at the electronic portions of the city and the dark sky in wonder as the city glowed. Everyone stared around in wonder, even Nya.

"Welcome to New Ninjago City!" A mechanical voice spoke, "The future is what we make it!"

"Wow," Nya spoke slowly. Hikari finally tore her eyes from the ceiling- and let out a squeak. "Nya, NYA, WATCH THE ROAD!" she yelped. Nya blinked and then grabbed the wheel and turned, which was enough to keep from running head-on into the mail truck, but not enough to escape hitting it completely.

"Watch it!" the mailman snapped, "who uses wheels anymore? Get with the program!"

Cole stepped out of the bus and headed out. "Don't worry, we'll free you up. Time for some old-school muscle tool!"

He went over to the mail truck and started to lift it. In fact, he lifted it with quite a bit of ease, and shifted it out of the way. A whirring sound, and Hikari turned to see two robots. "Stand back," the robot intoned, "pedestrian!"

"Who're you calling pedestrian?" Cole asked sharply, but Zane intervened. "It appears our help is not welcome," he said softly.

Sensei Wu shrugged. "Well, I prefer travelling the old-fashioned way- on foot. Besides, it's not like we have to go far to get where we're going."

They stepped out to see a huge tower that seemed to pierce the sky. Even though Hikari had seen it before, it still took her breath away as she craned her neck back to see it.

They walked through the front gates, the children all huddled behind the headmaster, the six teachers (and one substitute). Kai lagged behind and got caught in the doors. Nariko had to stifle a laugh as she helped the now rather red-faced Kai through the doors. "Careful, there, Kai."

"Welcome to Borg Industries," spoke a female voice, and everyone turned to see a white-skinned (skinned?) robot with purple wirings visible, and glowing green eyes. She had a head of silver hair. "I am Pixal," she spoke, "Cyrus's Primary Interactive External Assistant Life-form."

Zane blinked, looking intrigued, as Pixal continued, "I am sorry to hear about the traffic accident."

"Wow, news travels fast!" Cole said, sounding a little impressed. Pixal continued, seeming almost emotionless, "Everything in New Ninjago City is fully automated and interconnected. Your antiquated bus should be ready shortly."

"Antiquated," Hikari remarked quietly. "As of two years ago it was just fine..."

Pixal continued, looking directly at Zane now, "You are Zane, a droid like me." She smiled very slightly, and Hikari arched an eyebrow as Pixal continued, "What does Zane stand for?"

Zane glanced away. "I... I suppose I am just Zane," he said, sounding a little intrigued.

"Permission to scan?" Pixal asked, politely.

Zane's cheeks heated up very slightly as the two of them looked into each other's eyes, making the lightest pink possible appear on his pale 'skin'. "Er... permission... granted?" he said, sounding a bit confused and intrigued all at the same time.

Jay sniggered childishly. "Check it out!" he whispered to Nya and Hikari, "Zane has an admirer!"

Hikari chuckled and glanced at the two. If anything, Zane seemed attracted to Pixal, if anything. Attracted, not in love. Both her and Zane sometimes discussed books (with Lloyd in full earshot to make sure that that was the ONLY thing they discussed, of course), and they both agreed unanimously that 'love at first sight' was not real, although attraction at first sight certainly was. If anything, attraction at first sight- for both Pixal and Zane- was what was going on right now.

"I ship it," she remarked, very quietly and airily to thin air.

"Your hardware is outdated," Pixal said simply as she scanned Zane, a blue laser emitting from her eyes, "and your processor is slow and incompatible with ours. Peculiar. All droids must recharge their batteries, yet curiously, I am unable to locate your energy source. What powers you?" she placed a hand on his chest, where the heart would usually be, making the blush on Zane's cheeks deepen a bit. "I, uh... don't know," he stuttered.

"Mr. Borg would like to see all of the ninja on the one-hundredth floor," Pixal stated to the group.

Hikari glanced up at one of the staircase things as Pixal continued, "The others will follow me for the rest of the tour."

She spotted one of the Perfect Match machines that she'd wanted to try for a while, but hadn't been able to due to the fact that she was rather busy. As she stared at it, a sharp chill shot up her back- for a moment she was almost certain that she'd seen a pair of glowing red eyes on a purple-black background on the screen- but she blinked, and it was gone.

 _Weird._

* * *

Kai pressed a button for the elevator, Nariko giving him a kiss on the cheek before ducking back out of the elevator, giving Hikari a rough one-armed hug in the process. "I'll see you after the tour, Kai. Love you." She nodded at her sister as the elevator doors shut, and Hikari playfully saluted to her sister. Nariko smirked before the doors shut completely, and she was lost from view.

Kai waved at her, looking a little dreamy. "Love you," he echoed dreamily. .

Jay and Cole snickered, making the dreamy look drop off of Kai's face as he glared at the two of them.

"You are so immature," he finally mumbled. Hikari rolled her eyes playfully. "Jay should be more mature, he was the one snogging- er, kissing- Nya on the lips yesterday," she teased.

Jay's smile turned into a pout. "Hikari, that was low," he whined, making Hikari chuckle again.

A light flashed to life above the buttons as they stood back and let the elevator rise into the air, but none of the ninja noticed it, not even Hikari. Hikari was looking out of the window at the view, remembering when she and Lloyd had come here for the first time. They'd both watched the cityscape rise in front of them, like a sunrise.

It was quite beautiful, actually, and if she squinted, the screens and flashing lights turned into a wash of multicolored (but mostly blue) light against her eyelids as she stared out over the beautiful, new city.

* * *

Nariko walked up to Nya, who was looking a little pale. "Hey Nya. What's up? You look pale as a ghost."

"U-uh, nothing," Nya stuttered, still looking shell-shocked. "Hey, do you wanna try this out?"

Nariko glanced at the machine- 'Perfect Match'. "Oh, this thing? Nah... I don't trust machines like this. And besides, I don't need a machine to tell me who my perfect match is. Your bro."

A gentle smile blossomed on her face like a flower, lasting for about a minute, before a more no-nonsense look came back on. "Even if it's really accurate, I don't really trust it that much anyway. No offense to Mr. Borg," she added thoughtfully at the end.

Nya glanced back at the machine. "O-oh, i-is that so?" she asked, in a rather high pitched, nervous voice. "I-I see."

Nariko arched her eyebrow. "Nya? Are you sure you're okay? You seriously look like you're about to-"

"I'm fine." And Nya turned on her heel and walked away.

Nariko's eyebrow went even higher. She glanced at the machine, which sat there innocently amidst the schoolgirls surrounding it and whispering amongst one another. "... hm."

* * *

Hikari was shaken out of the daydream by the sound of the door opening, and she turned and followed the ninja into the room. "I would've expected ninja to sneak through the window, not use the elevator," Cyrus Borg joked to them. Hikari waved a little bit, smiling. "Hey, Mr. Borg."

"Hello, Ms. Tsukino. It's lovely to see you again," he said pleasantly, and Hikari smiled, squinting her eyes shut. "Same here!"

Jay let out a gasp that sounded somewhat painful to make. "Oh my gosh!" he squealed, "Are you- _are you-!?_ "

"Cyrus Borg?" Mr. Borg said, smiling slightly. He scratched his head. "Y-yes... unfortunately, when my parents gave me a name like that, my future in technology was.. predetermined." He came out from behind his desk in a sort of machine, that looked remarkably like a mechanical spider, and he looked timidly down at the legs at the last word. Hikari's eyes widened. ".. you... certainly upgraded your legs," she stated, carefully, hoping not to offend him.

She was not alone in staring- the other ninja all stared at the mechanical thing, Zane dropping the metal item he'd picked up to examine.

Cyrus chuckled. "Ah, yes," he said, a bit awkwardly, "These... sadly, I've been... disabled, all my life," he said, looking down. "Yes, I did... have an upgrade, of sorts," he agreed with Hikari. "It's... nothing my mind couldn't fix. Speaking of which," and he now turned towards Zane, who faced him more directly at the sight of being addressed, "My deepest condolences, Zane. I heard about your father. He was a brilliant mind. He would've fit right in."

"Thank you," Zane said quietly, lowering his silver eyes for a moment. "But loss is inevitable."

"Eh, maybe," Cyrus said, a bit awkwardly, "but, not tomorrow! Technology- making the impossible possible. The only limit to our potential is that which we... don't dream."

Kai suddenly spoke up, "Isn't this the same place the Overlord was destroyed?"

Hikari blinked in surprise. "Is it? I guess I didn't really recognize it from the new cityscape..." she mused, noticing the way Cyrus turned away from Kai for a moment, an awkward look on his face.

"Who dreamed of the idea of building a corporate headquarters here?" Kai asked. Hikari snorted, the musing look fading as she clapped him on the back; nearly hard enough to knock him over. "Ah, now I see why Nariko likes you so much; you two have the same nice sarcastic sense of humor," she said, sounding amused.

"Ah," Cyrus stuttered out, "what better way to send the message to evil that we won't cower to anyone? I see... or, better yet, I don't see- the Golden Ninja."

"Oh yeah, he's probably heading back to the school," Hikari said, "I can let him know to stop by when I see him-"

"No no no," Cyrus said, coming over rapidly with his spider-leg machine with several, tapping machinery sounds. "I'm- I'm glad it's just you four. And, of course, that Ms. Hikari is here," he acknowledged Hikari, who smiled very slightly as Cyrus continued, "I wanted to... give you a gift."

Hikari arched her eyebrow as Cole turned around, from where she was standing with Kai. "A gift?" Cole asked, sounding excited, "well... we won't say no to that! Er, it wouldn't happen to be cake, would it?"

Hikari let out another peal of laughter. "Cole, you never change, even after two years," she giggled.

Cyrus pulled a tarp off of a golden statue of him. "The Future is what we make it!" it said, in a mechanical voice. Cole looked a bit disappointed. "Ah! So... no cake."

"Oh wow. A... statue. Of yourself," Kai added, making Hikari bend over at the waist to try to disguise her snickering fit. Jay let out a squeal of joy, making Hikari wince slightly even as she tried to stop giggling. "I know! How cool is that!"

Cyrus moved back over to where Kai and Hikari were standing as the others gradually approached, and suddenly dragged them sideways and bent down at the lowest height he could get. "Please," he whispered, "protect them with your life. All of Ninjago depends on it!"

"Protect?" Kai asked, sounding puzzled, as Hikari blinked in slight confusion, "protect what?"

Cyrus looked around, nervously adjusting his glasses. "Shh! Don't say it so loudly, he's listening! You were right... I should never have built here! You must go!"

Kai and Hikari shared the most baffled look possible as he suddenly scuttled off towards his desk again. Hikari noticed a camera on the wall moving, and following Kai and her's movements. She squinted at it before approaching the statue, as Cyrus said, quickly, "Uh, I'm sorry to cut this short, but there's- uh- things to invent, I hope you can... show yourselves out."

"Ah- okay! Of course," Cole said, and Hikari went over as they lifted up the statue. "Something's up with Borg, guys," Kai whispered.

Jay scoffed. "They're called 'artificial limbs', Kai! I know you hate machines, but you don't have to be so rude! We're his guests!"

"I mean, he was acting suspicious, like he was scared!" Kai protested.

"He said we had to protect 'them' with our lives," Hikari contributed.

"Them? Who-" the elevator doors shut, and startled the ninja into dropping the statue.

"Great! Now look what you've done!" Jay huffed, but Hikari was leaning down. "It's... hollow! There's some stuff inside..." she exclaimed softly, reaching inside the remains of the hollow statue.

She pulled out what looked like her silver kimono, except... it was very different. The dress itself was split down the front, as if it was a coat, except long and black and thin, though it still seemed to glow with a silvery light. The inside was a silver shirt and purple pants, with a pair of black combat boots. There was a silver mask that covered the bottom half of her face that went along with it, and a gray-and-purple belt that was fastened at her side.

She blinked and examined it, tilting it from side to side, as Cole pulled out some new ninja outfits along with it. "Why'd he give us new ninja outfits?"

"Especially me. He basically redesigned my whole look," Hikari said, examining the clothing carefully. ( **A/N: Sorry, Painted Wings! It originally was the same; but then I had a last minute decision to make her look a little like GGO Kirito.)**

"Guys, hate to admit it, but... maybe Hikari and Kai are onto something," Cole said, as Kai started towards the broken statue again.

"And... what exactly are these?" he withdrew two weirdly shaped, golden objects.

The entire elevator started flashing. "Technoblades located," the elevator spoke, "apprehend. Will the assailants pleforase stand down and release the Technoblades?"

Jay looked ticked off. "First you call us pedestrians," he snapped to the mechanical voice, "and now we're _assailants?!_ "

"Nothing works!" Zane said, sounding frustrated as he pounded the many buttons. "Perhaps a malfunction?"

"Guys," Kai said, slowly, "THESE must be the Technoblades! We have to protect them with our lives!"

"Have it your way. Goodbye," the machine suddenly spoke, and the elevator suddenly dropped. Hikari screamed and was slammed against the ceiling of the elevator from the speed of the fall, plummeting towards the ground.

"LET THE ELEVATOR HAVE THE TECHNOBLADES, KAI!" Jay screamed from where he was also pinned against the ceiling, as Cole chimed in over him, "We have to get off this thing!"

Hikari glanced behind her and then gently touched her fingers to the metal ceiling. A blast of lightning shot from her fingers, sending the ceiling tile beneath her flying into space. For that matter she was nearly sent flying herself, but managed to spin herself wildly and cling to the ceiling at the last second. The others flickered over to where she was, their own Spinjitzu tornadoes whirling around them like hurricanes.

Zane forced himself to look over the edge of the elevator car. "There!"

Everyone jumped onto an ascending elevator right next to them, reaching out, each clinging to a Technoblade (except for Hikari, who still was clutching the new outfit tightly to her chest).

Everyone panted, as Cole went around and handed out the outfits. "Looks like we just quit our day jobs," he remarked, still panting.

Jay suddenly gasped. "Oh crap! Our students!"

* * *

Everyone walked through another door, into the area where things were being mass produced.

"And this is our factory line, where-" Pixal suddenly cut off. Every inch of Nariko's body suddenly screamed, 'TROUBLE' as the machines all stopped their jobs and came over to where they were, the ones that could anyway.

"This will be the end of your tour," Pixal spoke again, much more robotically than before.

"Kai... KAI!" Nariko shouted the last word, and just before the doors slammed shut behind her, nipped through them. She was so close that the door would've slammed shut on her ankle if she hadn't been sprinting as if on a bed of hot coals.

A blaze of thoughts rumbled through her mind. What had happened? What had happened to make everything suddenly try to attack, make even Pixal start to try to hurt them? Not a system malfunction. From what Hikari had told her of Cyrus Borg, he was very paranoid and very thorough in checking for viruses or malfunctions. No. Something was wrong, definitely-

Nariko flattened herself to the ground as a hovercar blasted through the area where her head had previously been. Good for her, she'd moved just in time, and the hovercar simply made a huge wind tear at her clothes.

And then she was up again, legs pumping as she sprinted, ran, panted as her thoughts whirled. Even though her mind was in the center of a maelstrom of thoughts, the only one that truly occurred to her, even as she dodged machines, ducked under hovercars, sliced through wires with a shard of metal she'd just found, and charged up flights of stairs relentlessly, was that Kai might be in real danger.

* * *

Everyone jumped out of the elevator in their new clothes (Hikari had tried out changing clothing with Spinjitzu for the first time. It had worked surprisingly well, considering it was her FIRST TIME.), and with most of the ninja holding Technoblades.

Someone plowed into Kai, and Kai almost hit her with the thing he was holding before realizing it was a very flushed and harried-looking Nariko. Nariko's worried red eyes relaxed when she saw him. "Oh. Good. You're okay. But something's wrong-!"

"I know, the elevator nearly tried to kill us," Jay returned grimly.

Nariko considered the comment. It was the sort of thing that really only made sense in Ninjago. "Fine. Okay," she said, a bit distractedly, "but- what are you holding? And what are you wearing? When did you get the new outfits?"

"Technoblades, new ninja suits, and from Cyrus Borg," Hikari rattled off, "but now isn't the time, can we discuss this later, when we're not all in eminent danger?"

Nariko rubbed her head sheepishly. "Oh. Right. Sorry. I forgot," she apologized.

Metal footsteps sounded, and Nariko turned in the direction of where she'd come from. Two large robots were approaching them.

"Oh yeah? Two can play at this game! HI-YAH!" Kai brandished his sword. It took them a second to realize nothing was happening, and he shook the Technoblade furiously. "What's with these things?!" he panicked, "how do you turn them on?"

The robots came closer, and Zane held up his. "Let me try!" He banged it against the light cord, before grunting. "It's not even sharp! Why even call it a blade?!" he complained.

The robots fired a laser blast. Everyone automatically dodged sideways, as the laser went blasting towards them. It split several of Hikari's hairs before hitting the window. The window cracked.

"Uh oh," Nariko stated, before suddenly the window shattered and they were sent flying backwards from the blast. Cole seized a rope that happened to be there. "GRAB ON!"

Everyone haphazardly seized ahold of him, before a slight jerk hit them, the rope went taut, and they went flying at a window. "Ready to crash the party?" Cole yelled.

Hikari cringed. "No!" she responded, making Nariko snort slightly.

They crashed into the window, but the window must've been made of a very, VERY, strong material, because it didn't shatter. The ninja all started to fall, Hikari letting out a scream as they plummeted-

They crash landed into a dog-pile on a window washing ledge. Nariko let out a sound that sounded like a mix of a groan, a sigh, and a laugh. "Wow, I sure am glad this thing was here," she remarked, tiredly.

The window washer robot came closer, its eyes glowing red, and Cole automatically lashed out with his foot and knocked it over the ledge. Hikari watched as it plummeted towards the earth. "... well... that could've gone worse," she finally said.

Kai took the liberty to sum up the conversation with Borg. "That's when he said 'he' was listening," Kai said.

Jay glanced at him as they kept tugging the window-washing ledge up. "'He'? Do you think it's really the Overlord?"

"But how?" Cole asked, also helping, "we all saw Lloyd and Hikari defeat him!"

"We defeated him, yes. Destroyed him... not so much," Hikari remarked, jerking on one of the cords. "Lloyd was right when he said that darkness and light cannot exist without the other. As long as there's ANY light, the Overlord will most probably remain. We'd need a terrific amount of power to ever end up defeating him for good."

"So the question is, can he be destroyed?" Zane summarized. Hikari nodded.

A light suddenly flickered onto them, and they looked up to see a large vehicle 'staring' at them.

"I don't know," Jay squeaked in utter terror, "but we can!"

"Cole, throw me," Zane said. Cole stared at Zane as if he was utterly insane. He wasn't alone in that. "Excuse me?!"

"Throw me!" Zane commanded this time, silver eyes flashing cyan, and Cole wasted no time in grabbing Zane and heaving him at the floating vehicle. Zane grabbed the tail wing and yanked it down, before getting thrown onto the top of it. He momentarily wasted a few seconds trying to summon ice.

The blade grew freezing cold, and a sort of glowing thing came from the top. He looked at it, and then raised it above his head as he leapt into the air before slamming it into the vehicle.

The vehicle started to ice over, glowing brightly, before the ice melted off to reveal a sleeker, more 'ice-like' vehicle in its place.

"What just happened?" Kai asked, staring at the floating vehicle that Zane was now commandeering.

"The Technoblade must've hacked the hovercopter's system!" Jay gasped, also staring at the hovercopter. "Zane controls it!"

Nariko pouted playfully. "Aw, now I want one!" she jokingly whined.

Hikari crossed her arms and shook her head, but she had a little smile playing across her lips. "Touché."

She stopped admiring it and quickly grabbed the wire that held up the window washer ledge. "C'mon, we gotta get this thing attached to the hovercopter," she said.

"Why?" Jay responded.

"I don't really fancy getting twenty-or-so children, plus Nya, plus Sensei Wu into the hovercopter," Hikari pointed out in return.

"... oh yeah."

* * *

Nariko winced as they descended into view. "I feel bad for leaving now..." Because the children were getting attacked by the machines. An errant laser flew right at them, and Zane dipped the hovercopter violently as the glass shattered.

Hikari let out a huge gasp of horror when she saw that the children were going towards some sort of furnace, the doors sliding open and shut to reveal the flames. The children were screaming and trying to get away, to no avail.

"NO!" she yelled, and the air suddenly smelled of ozone, and everyone's hairs rose up simultaneously as Hikari's fists clenched.

A BLAST of silver lightning shot from her hands, her arms, every part of her body, bolted across the room, and pretty much fried the control panel Nya was trying to fix. Nya yelped and jumped back as the furnace slid shut just in time, black plumes of stinking smoke rising from the furnace and the control panel.

Hikari panted a little bit, terror lining every part of her face, her fists clenched tightly. "..." she flexed her hands and slowly loosened them, staring with a facial expression that read 'sheer terror' written all over her face.

Kai shook off the surprise and shouted, "We need to get everyone to the bus! I have an idea!"

The students flooded for the hovercopter in droves, Sensei Wu ushering them all in. Nya had a problem with Pixal, and kicked her off before lunging for the hovercopter, which had mistakenly started to pull away.

She caught onto the wing, and noticed as Zane balked, looking at Pixal. A shiver ran up Hikari and Nariko's spines as they saw her glowing, red eyes. "C'mon! She's one of them! We have to go!"

Zane hesitated for a moment longer before pulling out of there, glancing back at Pixal one more time before flying back towards the bus.

* * *

"Get to the academy as fast as you can, sis!" Kai told his sister, "we need the Gold Ninja as well as the Silver Ninja!"

"Lloyd should be there by now," Hikari contributed.

"What about you guys?" Nya asked. Her eyes lingered on Kai, Jay, and- to Hikari's surprise- Cole.

Hikari glanced back. "Well, if the machines in Mr. Borg's factory are acting up, the ones out here certainly aren't going to play nice."

As if on cue, hovercars started spinning out of control, traffic lights started to chase after people, and one woman screamed as she fled from a gas machine.

The students watched as suddenly a hand, a robotic one, slammed violently into the side of the bus, making the glass of the windows crack and the students scream.

Hikari, Kai, Nariko, and the others pushed against the other side of the bus, trying to keep the bus from falling over, and Cole charged. "I got this! NINJA-GO!" he spun into a Spinjitzu tornado and flew into the air, landing on the back of the robot. He seized a handful of wires quickly and yanked, the wires snapping almost instantly, and the robot toppled over backwards.

Cole shook his handful of wires at the robot. "Nobody calls me pedestrian," he retorted.

"I always said Mr. Cole was my favorite!" one kid yelled, and Cole turned back to see the entire bus-ful of children cheering.

Nya gunned the engine and zipped out of there, and Kai turned to the others. "All right; so these Technoblades can hack into their systems!"

"So," Jay said, his electric-blue eyes practically sparkling, "what do you guys say we do a little hack-attack?"

Sensei Wu looked at them. "Zane, Kai, Hikari, I want you three to take to the skies. And Nariko, I suppose, since her dual-blade attack probably won't do much good against the robots."

Nariko casually sidled over and slipped her arm into Kai's as Sensei Wu said, "Jay, Cole, you two cover the ground."

Cole said, sounding very happy and grinning like a doof beneath his mask, "Does anyone else have a tingly feeling inside?"

"NINJA-GO!" Hikari spun away and, in mid-spin, summoned her silver dragon, leaping onto its back as they took off. Kai and Nariko huddled together atop Zane's hovercopter.

They heard a whirring behind them, and they turned to see a jet whizzing straight at them. Kai grinned, and his hand sparked. The Technoblade in his hand jetted out a red, fiery blade. "Oh, I want THAT!" he grinned.

As the jet soared over them, Nariko seized his waist as he stabbed the Technoblade straight up, stabbing it into the jet. The jet started to glow with a red-hot heat, and then they flipped over and they were sitting in a fiery red jet.

Kai grinned again. "Yeah! Ha ha!" he cheered, before he tapped some buttons. His grin turned into a more frustrated look. "Oh, seriously- WOAH!"

Hikari watched as he veered upwards and spiraled into the clouds with this deadpan look. "Kai was not kidding when he said he was bad with technology," she finally stated.

* * *

Nariko grabbed Kai's shoulder. "Kai, calm down, let me-"

Their attention was distracted as a hologram of Cyrus Borg popped out in front of them. "So you've figured out how the Technoblades work," Cyrus said, "you must know, they are far, far more important than you may think."

Kai was trying to peer around him. Nariko said, crooking her eyebrow, "Sorry, I don't know why, could you explain-"

"This is a pre-recorded message," Cyrus continued.

"... oh."

"What I CAN tell you, is that we discovered a virus, laying dormant in our system. The Overlord."

"Overlord?" Now both of them were paying the closest attention they could.

"You need to get the Technoblades out of the city," Cyrus continued, "because once he knows you have them, he'll never let you leave! I've also given you new ninja outfits, to help block the facial recognition software!"

"Great! Style and function!" Kai snarked sarcastically, pushing a lever and diving down to avoid the three jets that had followed them up into the clouds, "wanna wrap it up? I'm a bit occupied at the moment!"

"Had I known this would happen, I would NEVER have built where the Overlord was destroyed. Good-bye, ninja, and good luck." The hologram shut, and Kai was forced to dive, swerve, and do a couple of barrel rolls as missiles exploded behind them.

"Can you guys handle that?!" he shouted down.

Jay looked up, noticed Kai's predicament, and quickly jumped over a robot onto a sort of tank. "On it!"

His Technoblade shot out, leaving a streak of lightning as he slammed it into the vehicle. It glowed before he was rumbling along, dodging missiles. "Ha ha!" he cheered. "Hey Cole, do you need a hand with those security robots?"

Cole hurled one into a nearby building. "I think I've got it, thanks!" he swung his Technoblade, which glowed green and sent little chunks of earth behind him, before hitting the robot. Jumping in, he whirred his new black battle mech and smashed the robots nearest him. "Ha!"

Now, let's return to Hikari, who, despite being ignored, was not hovering in midair and watching all of this unfold. No, she was being chased by most of the missiles and robots, which seemed to focus on her more. Joy!

She tried to attack, but being aimed at from all directions, it was all she could do to not fall off her Silver Dragon. She managed to get in a few lightning attacks, but summoning her silver power was out of the question.

"We have to get Hikari and the Technoblades out of here!" Kai bellowed.

"But where's Sensei? We cannot leave without him!" Zane responded.

Kai zipped off, Nariko in his vehicle. "There! I'll pick him up and meet up with you guys later!"

Hikari followed the others and landed on a stretch of pavement, now surrounded by security robots. Sensei Wu jumped off from the jet, and they all started firing and blasting the robots back, trying to keep them away from Hikari, who managed every couple of minutes to blast them back with a well-placed shot of lightning, or a chunk of the street, or some ghostly flames, or occasionally a blast of ice. Even Nariko helped, grabbing a sword and trying to do her best to sever the wires.

"There are too many of them!" Cole finally voiced what she was thinking.

"Keep fighting!" Kai responded, firing some lasers, "they've got to run out of batteries at some point!"

"I'm not so sure about that," Zane said, uneasily.

Hikari tried to summon her silver power, and felt a familiar warmth. A broad smile spread across her features as she released her silver power, it mixing with the gold and making a sort of 'yin-yang' symbol as the other source of power neared them.

The robots all stopped, and everyone cheered as Hikari leapt off her Silver Dragon and tackled her boyfriend. Lloyd stepped back with a grin on his face. "Nice new outfit," he remarked. "Robots versus ninja... dare I ask?"

Hikari gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You," she said, her silvery-gray eyes practically glowing with joy, "are a sight for sore eyes."

Everyone surrounded them, before a voice that Hikari hadn't heard for two years, a voice that she'd hoped to never hear again, rasped out, "So, you couldn't help yourself. The Gold and Silver Ninjas. We meet again."

"Overlord," Lloyd snarled. Hikari looked up at him and entwined her fingers with Lloyd's. "We've defeated you once. We can do it again," she said bravely, much more bravely than she was currently feeling.

"I don't want to fight," the Overlord crooned, as the robots all started marching towards them, "I just want your POWER!"

Sensei Wu blocked them both with his staff as they started forward. "No, Lloyd, Hikari. Your power is only making them stronger."

"But how do we fight?!" Lloyd asked, sounding confused.

"We don't," Hikari answered. Nariko finished, "We need to get you, my big sis, and the Technoblades out of New Ninjago City."

"I don't think he'll let us leave!" Cole responded.

Sensei Wu spoke. "I have an idea. But I don't have much time to explain. Listen close." They all huddled forward to hear his idea.

A minute passed, and they all whirled into their respective tornadoes (Nariko grabbed Kai). "NINJA-GO!"

Into their vehicles they went, and Kai said, charging as Hikari and Lloyd jumped onto their dragons, "I hope this works!"

"With a 4.2 percent chance of success, I'd say our hope is slim," Zane responded.

"That's all we need!" Hikari answered as they started flying out of the city as fast as they could, except for Kai.

When Kai joined up again, Lloyd immediately yelled, "We have to go back for him!"

"We will," Kai replied, "but only when YOU'RE safe!"

"He wants these weapons, and for some reason, he also wants you and Hikari!" Cole added, "remember, this is Sensei's plan! They can't break him!"

"Yesterday is gone," Zane agreed, "tomorrow is yet to come. We need to worry about today."

"And I'd say today we need to worry about getting you out of here!" Nariko added.

"You said it Zane! Nariko," Jay responded, as Zane continued, "We WILL come back to New Ninjago City, and when we do, we'll be ready."

"But for now," Kai continued, "we find someplace safe to hide. They'll be looking for us."

Hikari jumped over to where Lloyd was scowling down at the gold surface of his dragon, her own dragon dissipating as she clung to him. "We'll get him back, Lloyd. I promise," she said quietly.

Lloyd reached back and took her hand. "I believe you," he said, bravely.

And he really was doing his best to believe his girlfriend.

 **A/N: Don't you hate it when you write a really good chapter, but then while you were writing, the Wifi cut out, so when you save you lost most of the effing chapter?**

 **Yeah. That happened to me. I wrote a HUGE chunk, lost it because I was in Pennsylvania and the Wifi doesn't like me, and had to REWRITE IT. What truly ticks me off is that it was actually a great chapter. On a Mac you just have to go back and it'll be there. But nope. On iPad, you'd better just wave bye bye.**

 **Fudge you, iPad Pro. Fudge you, spotty Wifi. Fudge everything. (throws a plastic tape dispenser across the room).**

 **... anyway. After that little rant session. It surprisingly turned out pretty well when I tried to rewrite it.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: And here is the first episode of Season 3!**

 **Greenninjaisbae: Ohhh, okay! And here's the next chapter**

 **LovetheLORD: Hehe :3**

 **taylorblaze1: Well I'm glad that you got to come and see all of these new chapters, and I hope you're feeling much better now!**

 **Michelle Rita: Ahhh, I see. Yeah, I realized that now. Thanks :) And now, onto Season 3! (fangirls with you)**

 **Shelly Marsh: Hehe, I'm so glad you like it! And your fangirl scream lasted for quite a while, haha :)**

 **Guest: Thanks! And here's Season 3!**

 **Quotev:**

 **LovelyLife: Llokari is now canon (in this story now, anyway).**

 **Elaine Smith: Haha xD Well I'm glad it finally happened**

 **Crystalsong11: Oh no xD I will bail you out of jail since it was my fault xD**

 **Sarah: Mmhm!**

 **Leah2306: Hehe xD Would you say you would've seen this in the Mirror of Erised from Harry Potter?**

 **Elemental Jedi wants to be a unicorn: (thumbs up)**

 **Wattpad:**

 **CristalHillman: Haha xD Glad it finally happened**

 **ninjahood: Oh, no problem! Thanks for all of the favorites and votes!**

 **Narwhal Power: Haha! :) Thanks for reviewing!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	28. Chapter 28: A New Member

"This is a perfect place to lay low," Lloyd sighed as the ninja dumped branches and leaves on their new vehicles to hide them from sight. "No robots, no cameras... no problem."

Hikari smiled at his much calmer face as Nya said, quietly, "Still, if ANY aerial drones pass overhead, you better wear this-" and she tossed Lloyd an outfit of his own. "It'll scramble the facial recognition signal so they can't find you."

Lloyd came back wearing his old Green Ninja gi, and Hikari grinned as he examined his new- or rather, old- clothing. "Hehe, yeah- this is sweet."

"Lloyd? Hikari?"

Hikari and Lloyd turned to see Misako running over to them. "Mom?" Lloyd asked, sounding surprised.

"Misako!" Hikari said, sounding both surprised and happy, and Misako hugged her son tightly. Hikari beamed as Misako finally released her son and looked around at them. "What are you all doing here?" she asked, pleasantly.

"The Overlord's back. New Ninjago City has fallen under his control," Hikari replied seriously, and then Lloyd said in a much smaller voice, "he has Sensei Wu."

"Wu's tough," Misako said, her green eyes hardening a little, exactly the way Lloyd's eyes did, "there's a reason he's lived as long as he has."

Lloyd's eyes suddenly lit up as a thought occurred to him. "Where's Dad?"

"Yeah, where is Lord Garmadon?" Kai asked, leaning against a tree. Nariko gently poked him in the ribs, making him poke her back, which made her start tickling him.

"He no longer goes by Lord," Misako answered, "Here, he is SENSEI Garmadon. And he will not be back until this evening's lesson."

"Did you just say SENSEI?" Jay asked. Nariko gently (and lazily) flicked him, as Kai wheezed and tried to recover from her tickle attack. "Yes, Motormouth. Perhaps you should get your ears checked," she teased.

Kai gave a jealous pout, until Nariko went back and started petting his head, flattening his spiky hair. "Hey, hey! Watch my fabulous hair, Nari," he responded, jokily guarding his hair.

Nariko let out a bark of laughter and mussed it up, to his slight amusement and dismay. "Not a chance, my little firefly."

"He's taller than you," Hikari pointed out. Lloyd stifled a sound that sounded like a mixture of a sneeze, a cough, and a snort, and very nearly choked in the process.

Hikari patted him on the back. "Hey, hey, Lloyd, watch it, you don't want to choke, now do you?" she said, gently. Lloyd kissed her on the cheek and wrapped an arm around her. "As long as I have you, I'll live forever," he said vaguely.

Hikari nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck.

Nariko gave Hikari a disgruntled look before rolling her eyes. "He's still little compared to me."

"What!?" Kai complained, playfully pouncing on her. "No way."

Cole cleared his throat, making the two couples look at him. "Sorry to interrupt your flirting," he spoke up, "but we should go in?"

"Oh. Right," Nariko said, before gently shoving Kai off. "Let me up, you're heavy."

Kai acted insulted. "Are you insinuating I'm fat?" he asked.

"Nope. I'm saying you're very muscled. Muscle weights more than fat," Nariko said casually. Hikari high-fived her sister at the sight of Kai's speechless face. "Nice save."

"Your weapons will not be allowed," Misako cut in when everyone was back on their feet and calmed down. "Ever since Lloyd and Hikari saved Garmadon, he has sworn an oath to never fight, in hopes of making up for his evil past. It's an oath he takes very seriously."

Nariko raised a hand. "Um, I can stay back-"

"No, you're coming with me," and Kai dragged his girlfriend to his side. Hikari crossed her arms. "And I could, but Lloyd would perform a Kai and do that. Also... if I stayed back I might as well just gift-wrap myself and walk back to the Overlord."

"You guys go on ahead. I will stay back and watch them," Zane offered.

The other guys piled their weapons into Zane's arms and left, thanking Zane.

Hikari and Nariko exchanged a look. "... boys," they spoke simultaneously, before Hikari smiled apologetically at Zane. "We'll tell you everything that happens when we get back." She drew an x over her heart before placing her hand over her eye. "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Zane blinked. Hikari giggled at the look before running back over to Lloyd. "See ya, Zane!" she called. Lloyd picked Hikari up and popped her onto his shoulders, ignoring her squeals of protest.

Nariko crossed her arms, before giving Zane an awkward, tight smile, and rushing back over to Kai. "Thank you," she called over her shoulder. Kai proceeded to seize her hand and not let go as they continued on.

Zane looked at them, then back down at the weapons. He shook his head with a smile and sighed.

* * *

A gaggle of children were throwing a ball around, before they kicked it over into the direction of the ninja. Kai caught it, and they all squealed and ran forward.

"Well, at least there's a few places in this world I'm still considered cool," Cole said, but just as he said this all the children flocked to the Gold and Silver Ninja.

Hikari grinned at the sight of them and knelt down to the nearest one. "Hey there. Nice to meet ya."

The kid, a little boy with a funny haircut, beamed and looked up at her. "Are you two really dating?"

Hikari and Lloyd pointed at each other at the same time, their eyebrows raised. "You mean us?" They realized what they'd done and started tittering.

The kid nodded, his eyes wide with hope and practically glowing with excitement. Hikari nodded and patted him on the head with a small smile. "Yep, we sure are!"

"Wow!" the children jumped up and down like Sea of Sand jumping beans. Hikari giggled as one of them crawled onto her back. "Hey, you're all pretty cute," she remarked.

She then twisted, looking around. "Hm, I wonder where that kid went?" The kid on her back giggled, and she twisted. "There! Oh... no? I wonder where they went?" The kid giggled loudly as she twisted into odd positions, and the others laughed as well.

"Nope. Still totally lame," Jay said to Cole as they approached, giving the kids high-fives. Cole lifted a few kids up, and Kai grinned and ruffled their hair.

Nariko was staying at the edges, before a kid looked at her. "Are you the Silver Ninja's sister?" he asked, eyes wide.

With that, every single child within the ten foot radius turned to look at Nariko. Nariko stood there before a sheepish smile came over her face. "Um... yes?"

The child looked as though he'd struck hold. "Coool," he said, dragging out the 'oo' part, and then they dragged her into the group.

Kai ran a hand through his girlfriend's hair. "See? You're cool too."

Nariko smirked as he dragged her closer. "Definitely cooler than you."

"And why's that?"

"You're the fire ninja. Therefore, you're hot," Nariko breathed back, their faces an inch away from one another.

Lloyd and Hikari bonked them on the head, making them yelp in surprise. "Guys, there are children here!" Hikari waved expansively at the group of children, "show some self-restraint, would you?"

The children all giggled again as Kai and Nariko blushed.

* * *

Everyone sat in a sort of line, waiting. Nariko and Kai were sitting a little closer to one another than really necessary, as were Lloyd and Hikari.

A staff thumped on the ground, and someone who looked like they had four arms was on the screen door.

"Huh?" Everyone twisted to look, and then the door opened to reveal a sort of escort for Sensei Garmadon standing in front of him, before darting off to the side and bowing. Sensei Garmadon wore a gray robe over his black and green ninja gi as he walked in with a staff. "Ah! My son, so glad you could join us!"

"Hey!" Lloyd smiled and waved, "it's been a while, father."

"Check out the new Sensei! Looking sharp- ow!" Jay yelped as Sensei Garmadon thumped him on the head with his staff. "Silence!" he commanded.

Hikari therefore silently giggled, covering her mouth to try to hide the fact that her eyes were sparkling with mirth.

"Close your mouth and open your ears," Sensei Garmadon continued, walking away from Jay, who was rubbing his head. "Tonight's lesson, is the Art of the Silent Fist. To fight without fighting. May I have a couple of volunteers?"

Lloyd volunteered, and after Hikari looked at his eager green eyes, she put her hand up as well. "May I volunteer as well?" she asked, politely.

"The Ultimate Battle, round two!" Nya joked, and Hikari let out a soft giggle.

"Attack me! But please, no powers... I happen to like my monastery," Sensei Garmadon commented, and Hikari grinned. "I'm sure you do, it's a lovely one," she answered back.

Lloyd ran at his father, who simply dodged. He slammed into the table with a grunt. Hikari winced as Sensei Garmadon said, without any sort of change in tone, "You see? The key is balance. Let your opponent.. or opponents... fight themself."

He nodded at Hikari. Hikari glanced at Lloyd, who nodded. Hikari bit her lip before running at him and kicking at his face. He leaned backwards as Lloyd charged at his father again, but he simply dodged sideways. Hikari attempted to punch him, but he simply tilted his head so that the punch missed.

"I can see how this would be useful," Hikari commented quietly, as Lloyd tried to tackle his father. Hikari had lunged backwards, so Sensei Garmadon simply leaned forward, turning, and then straightened up so that Lloyd slammed into the floor.

Hikari winced as Sensei Garmadon continued, "Let the enemy tire himself. Or herself," he added, as Hikari hung back. He glanced at her. "You may continue."

Hikari crossed her arms. "... hey Nariko?"

Nariko glanced up. Everyone glanced at Nariko- and in that moment, Hikari attacked.

Running forward silently, with only the sound of padded feet against the floor, she swept her foot out. Garmadon, who was not expecting it, was knocked off of his feet and landed on his back.

"Nice, Hikari!" Lloyd charged at his father, who simply ducked under the kick Lloyd attempted. Lloyd slammed into one of the pillars holding it up. Hikari cringed in sympathy. "Ooh..."

"Pupils, I give you the most powerful ninja in the land, the Gold Ninja!" Garmadon teased. Lloyd jumped to his feet, his eyes practically glowing with anger, as he extended his hands. A sphere of gold light started forming in his hands-

A hand lay on top of his.

He looked up to see Hikari's calm gray eyes staring at him directly, as if peering into his soul. "Lloyd," she spoke quietly, and his hands relaxed a bit as she started to press in on them. "Calm down now. Like your dad said... he does like his monastery."

Lloyd's almost enraged expression relaxed into an almost-smile as she slowly pushed his hands together, the light flickering out until the hands were pressed together once again.

She smiled, looking satisfied. "There," she spoke, warmly, "that's all well and done, isn't it?"

Lloyd rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "Right... sorry. I don't know what got into me."

"You let yourself get way too riled up," Hikari hummed, and stood on her tiptoes to deliver a small kiss on his cheek.

Sensei Garmadon coughed slightly. "Now, let's divide into pairs!" he spoke, when they were both looking at him.

Kai and Nariko ducked each others' attacks almost perfectly. Jay kept getting whacked by Nya since he was being far too nice, and Cole was doing okay by himself. Hikari and Lloyd ducked and dodged in time to each other's attacks, Hikari gently taunting him and Lloyd doing it right back. It was like some sort of bizarre dance.

And they liked it.

A loud yell, sounding rather female, sounded, and all the ninja looked at each other. "The Technoblades!" they all shouted, and ran towards the door. Banging through, they saw Zane holding the Technoblades with Pixal in tow.

"Pixal? How'd she find us?" Cole asked, sounding bewildered. Kai growled a little as he started forward. "How about we take her apart to find out?"

Nariko grabbed his shoulder. "Kai!" she said, in a very scolding tone. Kai glanced from her to Pixal, looking torn.

"Please don't," Zane intervened suddenly, "she was only doing what she was programmed to do. There is much she knows, but perhaps-" And the Technoblade flickered to life, "there is an easier way."

"No, I-" Garmadon was cut off by Jay. "Ah-ah-ah! Relax, ain't a weapon, only hacks into things."

Zane gently tapped the Technoblade to the center of Pixal's head. Ice formed over her before creeping off, revealing a pair of glowing green eyes. Her scowl turned into a gasp. "Where am I?" she asked, sounding back to normal, "why am I tied up?"

"You were under the control of the Overlord," Zane said, quickly tugging off her binds, "how did you find us?"

Pixal blinked before looking at him again. "They mined Sensei Wu's memory. Now the Overlord knows all of your hiding places."

"My- my brother!" Sensei Garmadon looked as though someone had just punched him, "is he okay?"

"Yes, but the Overlord wants your son and his girlfriend," Pixal responded. Hikari's face turned pink and she threw her arms in the air. "Why does EVERYONE assume that the minute they see us!?"

"We are dating," Lloyd pointed out.

"I know, but even two years ago!" Hikari exclaimed, letting her arms drop to her sides. Pixal continued, when it was clear that they were all listening, "Their Golden and Silver powers are the only thing that can free him from the Digital Realm and become real."

Kai leaned over and picked up his Technoblade. "Why did Borg give us the Technoblades to protect? Why are they so important?" he asked, the blade whirring to life in his grip.

"Because with all of them together, they can reboot the system. Wipe the master computer clean. And destroy the Overlord virus. For good," Pixal responded.

"Wooaaaah," they all said.

Pixal suddenly gasped, her eyes widening. Nya looked concerned now. "What is it?"

Pixal looked directly at them, her green eyes starting to glow with worry. "I didn't come alone."

"Who else is with you?" Jay asked.

Pixal's eyes were really starting to glow now. "Nindroids."

"NINDROIDS?!" they all shouted. Hikari crossed her arm. "Wait, so when you scanned Zane... did you take Zane's design, redesign and upgrade it, in order to produce these nindroids?"

Pixal nodded. Everyone stared at her, before Lloyd put an arm around his girlfriend. "We've said it once, we'll say a hundred times again, we REALLY don't give you enough credit."

"Now's not the time to talk about it- look!" Hikari pointed, and they all looked up to see a figure wearing black clothing flicker into being on the roof, before they all appeared in a ring around them. "Adversaries 18. Probability of survival-"

They all charged before she could finish. The nindroids were incredibly fast, but Hikari quickly dodged sideways, up, down, moving at a speed too fast to really watch without getting dizzy in order to defeat more nindroids than the others could. Zane was surrounded all too quickly and overpowered.

Hikari winced before she tossed one nindroid into a rock, making it crackle with electricity a bit. Lloyd jumped down into the battle, Spinjitzuing away several nindroids, before managing to lift Zane up.

Hikari let out a yelp before ducking underneath a nindroid's sword, and then she thrust out her hand automatically. A rather ghostly-looking icicle impaled the nindroid and it collapsed to the ground, twitching as sparks sprayed from the spot of impact.

Nariko was being surrounded by the most, and they all sprayed lasers at her. She just casually ducked down as the lasers cut across their circle and hit them with a loud blasting sound. "Haha, suckers!" and she made a rude face at them.

More of the nindroids descended, and Hikari let out a frustrated groan. "Oh COME ON!" she groaned, "are there REALLY that many?!"

"We have to get out of here!" Nya called, and they ran back into the monastery, to the very back. Jay looked around, wildly. "Anyone wanna clear a path?"

"Yeah... I got a plan!" Cole said, his dark brown eyes lighting up.

* * *

The water wheel broke free from the side. Hikari gritted her teeth and clung to the insides, grabbing the nearest person (Lloyd) for support, as the thing started turning. The ground became sky and the starry sky beneath them rolled by, faster and faster, until the only thing Hikari knew for sure was that the air was rushing by, tearing at her coat and her hair wildly-

They crashed, and Jay sent out a blast of lightning that triggered the autopilots on their vehicles, which took off.

All the nindroids went and followed it, leaving the water wheel behind as they jumped into their own planes and zoomed off.

Cole panted as he climbed out, staggering a little. He looked a little green. "It won't be long until they figure out we used autopilot," he groaned, rubbing his head and messing up his already messy black hair.

"We should get a move on," he continued.

"I'm coming with you," Sensei Garmadon said sternly, "if the Overlord wants my son, he's going to have to get through me first."

"I'll stay behind and look after the monastery."

Lloyd spoke up now, putting a hand up. "Wait- if the Overlord wants me, and the Technoblades are the only things that can stop him, shouldn't we split up, just in case?"

"Good idea. Zane's falcon knows the secret location of my Samurai X cave," Nya spoke up, "you guys head there and take as much as you need to get as far away from us as possible."

Lloyd reached out a hand to Hikari. Hikari was frowning thoughtfully. "He wants me too... should WE split up? This way he can't get both of us at the same time, and splitting his forces will make them weaker," Hikari pointed out.

Lloyd stopped, his green eyes filling with worry. "But... I don't want..."

Hikari stepped forward and pecked him on the lips. "Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, I can take good care of myself," she said, sternly, but was smiling at him all the same. "I promise, we'll see each other again."

Lloyd put his forehead against hers, his eyes worried. "I know, it's just... I worry," he said, in a small voice. Hikari chuckled. "Don't stress yourself over me- you just go with your dad and spend some quality time with him. Heaven knows you need it," she kissed him again, but on the nose this time, not his lips.

He chuckled a little before looking up at the others, hugging the smaller girl to his chest, no matter how she jokingly protested. "What are you guys going to do? The Overlord's not going to let you put one foot within the city."

"Yeah, Nya, what ARE we going to do?" Hikari asked, her arms still snaked around Lloyd.

Nya grinned, her amber eyes practically glowing in the moonlight. "We're going to shut down the power."

* * *

Even though the box was a good one, a very convincing trick box, Hikari couldn't help but hold her breath when she heard the nindroids open it.

They shut it again, letting her sigh in relief softly, and a few minutes later, someone knocked on the side of it. They all jumped out, Hikari shoving open the lid and stretching.

She missed Lloyd already, and it hadn't even been a few days without her boyfriend. They'd parted with a hug and a kiss only a day ago, and she could still feel his arms wrapping around her. And the way his mouth tasted (like Swedish Fish).

"We can just get you outside the storm walls, but you'll have to get to the power substations on your own," the magician said.

Nariko smiled from where she had her arms looped around Kai. "No problem," she said lightly.

"Good luck, and abracadabra!" And they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Jay had to cough it out, and Hikari waved it away from her face a little bit. "Show off," he scowled at the spot where the magician had previously been.

"So Nya, about this power substation, can we really destroy the Overlord and all his nindroids, just by flipping a switch?" Cole asked.

"Cripple them, yes," Nya nodded, holding a magician wand from who-knows-where, "Destroy? No. Once we power down his army we still need to reboot the central computer with the Technoblades. And since he knows we have them, it's not like they're just going to let us waltz in-"

"Woah-woah-woah-woah," Jay said, "wait a minute, if turning off the power shuts off everything connected to it, wouldn't that mean Pixal too?"

Hikari cringed slightly, trying to ignore the way Nariko had her head leaning on Kai's shoulder. "Oh... I hope Zane doesn't realize that. I think he's really starting to like her company."

"Speaking of which," Kai spoke up, looking up from where he and Nariko had been discreetly Eskimo-kissing, "where IS Zane?"

* * *

Hikari was walking around, looking around for Zane, before noticing something in the back of the train. She quickly swung up into the rafters, making a few metal clanging sounds that were lost amongst the rattling sounds of the train.

Zane smiled slightly at Pixal as she placed part of his face back on, before going back in and sending sparks everywhere. "Thank you for repairing me," he spoke, smiling slightly, before shrugging- and then stopping, since she was using a blowtorch and that could melt something important. "I guess an older model like me is no match for the newer models," he joked.

"Assisting is just one of my primary functions," Pixal said, not meeting his eyes as she used the blowtorch, "Gratitude is not required."

Zane grimaced slightly. Hikari was fairly sure she knew why- He was used to being rather polite, but Pixal spoke rather bluntly sometimes and often told him there was no need to be polite. So you can see how he was rather confused.

A startled look came into her eyes, and she flicked back her blowtorch as a small thing unlocked, revealing a glowing blue circle in the left side of his chest.

"Fascinating."

Zane looked down at the pulsating, glowing circle. "What is it?" he asked, although he seemed to have a sneaking suspicion he already knew the answer.

"Your power source. It's... a technology I am unfamiliar with," Pixal responded as she leaned in closer, "Your father built you with spare parts, yet this piece is... unique. Perhaps if I take a closer look-"

She touched his power source, and a bolt of electricity flickered through him. Hikari winced as Zane cried out in pain, as she then looked at some of the metal pieces she'd acquired. In her spare time she'd been asking Nya to teach her some machinery. She was... not entirely, but fairly confident she could make a pretty good battery, if she combined her new machinery skills and her electricity powers, she could make one.

Maybe... then she could replace Pixal's?

Worth a shot.

Pixal looked worried as she saw Zane's pained expression. "I am sorry I caused you pain," she spoke robotically, "I was curious to understand why you are so different."

"We're all different," Zane spoke, from where he was still sitting, before glancing away slightly. "But... I don't feel so different... around you..." a faint pink blush came over his face. "Since you... are... somewhat like me."

Hikari smiled slightly as he spoke haltingly, awkwardly. Zane hardly ever spoke to girls, except for her, and especially not to girls he rather liked.

Pixal looked serious. "I am not different," she stated, "I am P.I.X.A.L. A Primary Interactive External Lifeform. And your repairs are complete." She shut his chest before leaving, and Zane sighed before touching a hand to his forehead. "That's... not... what I meant," he sighed, sounding more vexed than anything.

Hikari waited until he had left, before slipping back down to the ground and pulling out her machinery and her incredibly small tools. It was mostly for practice.

"And what better way to practice what Nya taught me, to try to create a battery?" she wondered, looking at the gears and springs and screws she'd collected.

* * *

"Don't tell me... what?" Jay's voice came into the hallway, sounding a little sheepish.

Nariko and Kai walked in as Cole and Nya released hands, looking startled and a little guilty as Jay looked from his friend to his girlfriend with this puzzled look on his face. Kai arched his eyebrow. "Oh.. okay."

"Hope we weren't interrupting anything there," Nariko smirked, but she glanced at Nya's both disappointed and scared amber eyes as they flickered from Jay to Cole to Jay to Cole again.

"Just wanted to let you guys know... we're here," Kai spoke, but Nariko kept gazing at Nya.

Nya noticed and glanced away awkwardly when she saw Nariko's red eyes fixed upon her unmovingly.

"... hm." For the second time in two days, Nariko said the same, quiet utterance for nearly the exact same reason.

* * *

Hikari's tongue poked out of her mouth slightly at the corners as she held up a battery. From all the things she'd collected, she'd only been able to make a small battery, half the size of a regular heart- she'd checked.

"Well... it's a start," she sighed, holding the buzzing battery, before slipping it into her pocket.

"What's a start?"

Hikari jumped a few inches into the air. "Lloyd's Granddad, don't DO that!" she cried out, a hand over her heart. Zane looked vaguely amused, yet troubled. "I am sorry. I merely wanted to tell you we're here."

"Oh, okay." Zane was halfway out the door again when Hikari spoke again. "You like Pixal, don't you?"

"Of course I like her. She has been very kind-"

"No no, Zane," Hikari stalled him, "I mean the... other type of like."

Zane's mild expression changed, and he stared at nothing in particular. "Is it wrong that I do? I am a nindroid... I do not... I don't... am I allowed to have feelings like this...? They are not that strong as of yet..."

Hikari clapped him on the back. "You're worse than Lloyd, always saying he needs to put me and Ninjago before himself. Look, Zane, you were made to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I get it. But I think you're way too selfless sometimes. If you feel like it, be selfish for once, and spend time with Pixal. If you still like her after that, if you like her MORE after that... you'd be an idiot to let it go."

And she walked past him. "Oh, by the way, if the falcon and you have video communication, try to pull it up so Lloyd and I can talk, okay? He won't let me hear the end of it if I told him, but... I miss him. I really, really miss him."

Zane stared at Hikari in surprise as she walked away. A moment later, she turned around and arched her eyebrow at him. "I thought you said we were there. Are you coming or not?"

"Ah, sorry!"

* * *

Pixal let out a cry of shock as she jumped back, and Zane put a hand on her shoulder. "Careful- the power substation farms off of the electricity in the air. This is where all of Ninjago gets its power."

"Looks like we have a welcoming party," Kai snarked. Nariko frowned and crossed her arms. "I could've done without it. I think the only way we're getting into that substation, is if we stay out of sight."

"I agree," Nya said, "there's no way we can take them all on."

"You mean we actually get to be ninja for a change? WOOHOO!" Jay cheered, and Hikari chuckled slightly as she covered her mouth.

"I'll stay back," Pixal spoke to Zane, "I was not built for stealth, and cannot assist you."

Zane started to leave, before stopping and glancing over his shoulder at Pixal, with his silver-eyed gaze. "Be safe," he stated quietly.

Nariko smirked, and was about to say something when she noticed Hikari's deadpan look that basically read, 'DON'T SAY IT.' She followed instructions for once and didn't say anything.

As they climbed towards the tower, they heard a deep, robotic voice. "Keep a look out for ninja. The Overlord says they are coming." He then noticed one robot at the end of the line who was only about half of Hikari's height.

Hikari resisted the urge to go 'aww'.

The robot let out a robotic squeal, and the general of all the nindroids said, somewhat mockingly, "Look at you! Last one on the factory line. Ran out of metal, hmm?" He came forward, the little nindroid looking up at him. "I will call you..." he patted the nindroid on the head, making it squint slightly. "Mindroid."

Mindroid let out a sort of warble before following him with his arms crossed. Hikari frowned slightly; she knew what it was like to be teased. "Poor thing," she remarked softly.

Climbing back up, they hopped onto the top level and sprinted into the control room. "There!" Nya whispered, "that's the substation's power core. Shut that down, and it's lights out for the Overlord. Now, if only we knew which switch..."

They all started to mess around with the buttons, Hikari being more careful with them since she didn't want to alert all of the nindroids. She'd taken a squadron of buttons near the front door.

Suddenly, all the alarms started blaring. "Our cover's been blown!" Nya cried, "we have to seal the doors and destroy the core!"

"Pixal!" Zane spoke suddenly, "don't seal the door, Nya- I'm going out there!"

Jay grabbed him before he could charge out. "Are you crazy?! We barely fixed you up the LAST time you went up against them!"

Zane glared at Jay in return. "You didn't fix me," he said, in a steely tone that none of them had ever heard from Zane before, EVER. "SHE did."

"True... fine, go," Hikari said, impatiently as she frantically banged buttons, "we have to figure out how to shut this thing down-"

Zane darted out the door, and just as Cole shut it a little nindroid- Mindroid- came jumping in.

"Oh, great!" Kai groaned, but Hikari held up her hand. "Wait... let me try something."

The nindroid brandished his sword at her, but Hikari pushed it aside. A twinge of pain flashed through her fingers as she did so. "Hold.. still..." and she placed her palm flat against his chest. Two surges of electricity left her hand, and one made his eyes turn green.

Hikari removed her palm. Mindroid looked up at her, confusion in his expression... or... what they could see of his expression anyway. "What did you-" He clapped his hands to his mouth. "I can talk? I can talk! You fixed my voice box?" he asked, sounding excited and shocked. He also sounded like a little kid.

Hikari nodded slightly, smiling. "Well... I did my best. You'll sound like a little kid, but-"

She was cut off by Mindroid hugging her tightly. "Thank you!" he squeaked.

Hikari blinked before looking down at him. "Y... you're welcome..." she spoke, slowly and with a stunned tone in her voice.

"Can I come with you? Please? I can help!" Mindroid spoke, sounding excited. "Please please please! I like spending time with you. You're nice! You fixed my voice box!"

So not only did my improvised hacking fix his voicebox and change him to good... it also changed his personality, Hikari thought, amusedly. I guess I'm not the best at hacking, then...

Hikari chuckled nervously. "Erm... well... of course, I guess."

"What should I call you?" Mindroid asked, pleasantly.

"How about mommy?" Nariko joked. Mindroid's green eyes literally lit up. "Okay!"

Hikari rolled her eyes at Nariko. "Gee... thanks, Auntie Nari."

Nariko shrugged helplessly, actually looking a little baffled this time. "How was I supposed to know he was actually going to take it seriously?"

"He's basically a smaller, upgraded version of Zane, remember?" Hikari pointed out.

"... oh yeah..."

"Mind you, I'll have to redesign him and rename him later... but right now this is fine, I guess," Hikari mumbled, before her eyes lit up. "Oh!"

And she drew out the battery she'd made. "I can try this out! Hold still." And, moving quickly, she replaced the antenna which received power from the substation with her makeshift battery. Mindroid whirred back to life, blinking. "Did you do something?"

Hikari glanced at the now-useless antenna in her hands. "Um... you could say that."

Mindroid looked at the power core. "Um... maybe I could damage the glass somehow and damage it?" he wondered, tilting his head curiously.

Hikari shook her head in wonder at how childlike he seemed. "Yeah, try it..."

Mindroid turned to the huge power core and his eyes narrowed. A red laser blasted from his eyes and cracked the glass.

"That only CRACKED the glass?!" Nariko complained loudly.

"But it worked. Keep trying, okay?" Hikari looked down at Mindroid, and, without even meaning to, the tone she usually employed with children slipped into her voice.

To his credit, he did not get angry or try to blast him. He just saluted. "Yes, mommy!"

"You... you really can call me Hikari, if you want to..."

"No, I really do like mommy better. Or Mom." Mindroid gave Hikari a quick hug and blasted the glass again.

Kai smirked. "Hey, looks like you've got a kid now."

Hikari blinked in confusion while Nariko's face turned disgusted. "Kai Smith!" she scolded her boyfriend.

"What? What's so bad about that?" Hikari asked, still looking confused.

"Oh, no reason," Cole said, staring at the ceiling. Jay found the screens incredibly fascinating. "Yeah, nothing. It's nothing."

Kai had the grace to blush a little bit.

The lasers continued cracking the glass, and Nya's eyes lit up.

A nindroid managed to burst through the door and charged towards them. Hikari grinned and just moved her hands forward. Then, as the nindroid struck out with its sword, Hikari jumped straight up, letting the nindroid charge right underneath her.

She landed and tumbled a bit, Mindroid and Nariko both reaching out to steady her. Hikari grinned goofily. "That was fun."

The nindroid charged forward so fast that there was no way they could've stopped as they charged right into the weakened glass. The glass shattered as they fell right into the power core. They started spinning, the light beginning to expand around them as they whirled faster and faster, the ninja all scooting away even as nindroids started pouring in.

"Uh oh," the nindroid stated.

A huge shockwave poured out, screens shutting off, nindroids knocking backwards and shutting off, and the antenna Hikari had actually forgotten she was still clutching sparking and making her drop it with a loud yelp of "Fudge and cake batter!"

The ninja all walked out and cheered. "We did it!" Kai exclaimed.

Hikari's slight smile suddenly fell. "Uh oh..."

Everyone suddenly remembered, and they turned to see Zane kneeling next to Pixal, whose eyes were flickering dangerously as she lay on the ground.

"Th-this is wh-why I wanted to stay back. S-so you would not s-s-s-see this," Pixal glitched slightly.

Zane's hand clenched where it was laying at his side. "You... knew this would happen?" he asked slowly, sounding torn between crying and being stoic, as he usually was.

"The mission was important. I-I was not. I-I am to a-a-assis-s-st, I assis-s-sted," Pixal stated quietly, her eyes starting to droop shut.

"You're using up your reserve," Zane said, slowly moving his hand so that he was touching her hand. "Don't say anything more until we get you more power."

Pixal shook her head. Hikari knew she might be able to make a battery, but... she'd need far more metal. And who knew if it would even work for Pixal?

She bit her lip, hating the fact that she could feel all this anguish in the air and she could do absolutely nothing to fix it.

"We-e've destroyed the only p-p-power source in N-injago. Power will a-all be nonexistent." Pixal's voice was glitching even more now.

She moved her other hand so that it was touching Zane's. A little spark flickered between their hands connecting, and Pixal cocked her head slightly, her eyes flickering even more. "W-w-we are n-n-o-ot so-so different, a-a-are we?" she asked, even as she glitched. "We are... co-compatible?" she sounded a little hopeful here.

Zane closed his eyes. Slowly exhaled. And then nodded, opening his silver eyes. "Yes. I think we are," he spoke quietly.

Pixal smiled... and then her lips fell as her eyes dulled to gray and shut, her hand dropping back to the ground.

Everyone moved to surround Pixal, and Hikari blinked as Mindroid hugged her tightly from the side.

* * *

"Do you think... it's safe to go back?" Lloyd asked, hopefully. Even being away from Hikari for one day... it was practically torture. He hadn't even been able to see her.

Except when he shut his eyes. Then he could see her as if she was standing right in front of him.

"They may have shut off the power," his father spoke, "but they still need to reboot the system. Until we know the Overlord is gone for good... we need to keep moving."

Lloyd had been worrying that that was the answer. With one last gaze in the direction where Hikari was, he followed his father.

He remembered her last few words to him when they'd parted.

"Lloyd... just remember. Light cannot exist without darkness. So wherever you go, even if I'm not there physically... I'll still be here for you."

He touched his chest. Took a deep breath. And continued following his father into the rising sun.

 **A/N: I'm sorry! The part where Mindroid joins Hikari seems oddly written. I just wanted to get that out of the way, let me know if there's some other way for me to write it that seems more natural. :)**

 **Eeee Llokari and Kairiko fluff**

 **okay, and Pixane. Before all you Pixane haters get on my case, I would like to clarify that if they'd developed the Pixane shipping in the series better canonically, and that it seemed more realistic than 'love at first sight', then I would totally support it. It's not a horrible ship. Or maybe that's just me being a hopeless romantic for even the crappiest, weirdest ships. I dunno.**

 **Responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: Hmm, I actually wasn't considering that. Maybe I will. (spoiler alert) Yeah, you'll see how I still incorporate Skylor.**

 **dream lighting: (spoiler alert) Sorry... to have the story actually work I still have to 'kill him off' but he'll come back in Season 4 (though his appearance is a bit different than in the canon series) so he'll still die. Once again... sorry.**

 **Greenninjaisbae: Oh... thank you! I'm glad you like it :)**

 **zulara: You'll see (wiggles fingers mystically)**

 **Quotev:**

 **Leah2306: Yep xD Thanks**

 **Wattpad:**

 **NarwhalPower: Mmhm.**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x.**


	29. Chapter 29: Design and Rivalry

While the ninja were outside searching for things to make a vehicle with (like a jiggly-compact-compress-converter... or that might've been a compress compact jiggly converter. She wasn't sure), Hikari was hard at work with her own project.

She'd found enough good scrap metal to alter Mindroid's appearance. She'd also found a good name (although it was more of an acronym) for him- Miniature Interactive Capable Assistive Help, or M.I.C.A.H.

Mindroid now looked like a regular little kid, except for the panels on his chest and arms, that is. He had black hair that looked remarkably like Lloyd's style now, and green eyes that looked a little like Hikari's eyes. She'd been tempted to add in multiple things, but decided against it due to her not understanding his system. One day when she had the time, she'd examine it. Then she could have some fun!

She placed the final piece of scrap metal on his eye, and sat back with a smile. For something she'd been working on all day, it actually had turned out okay. She reached out and turned Micah back on.

Micah sat up. "Hi Micah," Hikari said gently.

Micah beamed and hugged Hikari, making her blink a little in surprise. "Hi mommy!"

She still wasn't used to that.

Hikari chuckled and gently ruffled her fingers through his fluffy black hair. "Hey there, Micah. Do you like your new body?"

She held up a mirror. Micah examined himself so thoroughly Hikari almost laughed, as he even stuck out his tongue (Hikari had given him a tongue, yes) and widened his eyes. It looked very realistic. Hikari was proud of herself for fixing it, although most of the credit still went to Zane's dad and Pixal.

"I like it!" Micah said finally, beaming up at Hikari. "Thanks mommy!"

Hikari chuckled and placed her hand on his forehead, gently brushing away fluffy locks of hair. "That's good," she said softly.

Nariko came over to Hikari, who'd been kneeling in the shade of one of the scrap metal heaps to do her work, with a sort of tablet tucked under her arm. "Hey, Hikari."

Hikari nodded to her sister, and Micah looked up at her. "Who's that?" He pointed.

Hikari chuckled. "That would be my sister, Nariko."

"So... she would be my... auntie?" Micah asked, tilting his head innocently. Once again Hikari had to marvel the fact that he was so childish. "Yep, that's Auntie Nari."

Nariko rolled her eyes and gently bonked her sister on the head with her fist. "Gee, thanks. Anyway, I just wanted to give you this- Jay whipped it up so you can talk to Lloyd. The falcon's with him right now."

Hikari's face and eyes lit up so much she almost looked like a lantern. "Really?!" she reached out and took the tablet. "Gimme."

Nariko grinned, saluted, and sauntered back over to HER boyfriend.

Lloyd's face flickered onto the screen, and Hikari beamed at her boyfriend, who looked just as happy to see her. "Hikari! Hey!" he said, warmly.

"Hey Lloyd, what's up?"

"Climbing through the mountains... so, not much. What about you?" he responded. Hikari was about to respond when Micah tugged at her shirt. "Mommy, who's that?"

Hikari set the tablet down and heaved Micah into her lap. "Um... Lloyd, this is Micah. He was previously a nindroid that I hacked into and then accidentally made him more childish, so I changed his appearance and he's coming with us. Micah, this is Lloyd, my boyfriend."

Lloyd's expression was priceless. "I- you- you hacked one- and now he's like a kid-?!" he blurted out, looking utterly confused, shocked, and slightly amused all snowballed into one.

"So... is Lloyd my daddy then?" Micah asked innocently.

Hikari and Lloyd looked at each other with twin blushes on their faces as they stared at each other. Then Micah. Then back at each other again.

"Er..." Hikari cleared her throat. "I mean, if Lloyd's okay with it-"

"I mean," and Lloyd was blushing, "since... well, since it's you and I, and he's calling you mom, I, I guess it makes sense..."

"Sure, okay..."

Micah watched his two 'parents', who were both blushing up a storm, before beaming at Lloyd. "Okay! Mommy misses you daddy!"

"Does she?" and Lloyd wiggled his eyebrows at Hikari, who just blushed even more. "Lloyd, thou art a villain," she teased, but she was still blushing heavily at him.

Lloyd grinned at her. "Well, then, I'll come capture you after this whole thing's over, okay?"

Hikari blew a kiss to him. "Of course. I'll come with you willingly, darling." The two of them started giggling their heads off, and Micah just blinked innocently before Hikari sighed, "Okay, but I gotta go and help Nya, I think she and Zane are doing something with Pixal..."

"Okay," and Lloyd smiled at her again, "Love you. Stay safe."

"Love you," Hikari repeated, "you too."

The screen flickered out, and Hikari stretched luxuriously, like a cat, before walking back to Ed and Edna's trailer.

Nya was holding a glowing half of Zane's 'heart' in her hand, and looking at him in concern. "Are you sure you want to do this? Modifying your original design could have... unintentional consequences."

Zane frowned, his eyes clouding. "No... I am not sure. But we need Pixal, just as much as she needs us right now. I think I am willing to take that risk. And... she risked her life for me. It is the least I can do to get her back."

Hikari frowned. "But I'm not even sure if your battery will work. Look, when I made Mindroid's, I was doing my best to base it off your design, but I don't know what makes Pixal tick. What might work for you... may not even do anything for her."

Zane looked at Pixal's inert body, before saying slowly. "I know that I may end up hurting myself... but... it's the least I can do."

"... wait, I want to try something. Nya, put it back in, just for a moment." Nya, looking puzzled, placed it back in. Hikari tilted her head before leaning in, so she was closely examining it. "Zane, try forcing things to remain in one half of your 'heart' for a moment."

Zane blinked, before shutting his eyes. The ebbing, pulsing glow stopped, and all of the lighter blobs (except for a few) squeezed its way into one half.

"Nya, quick, take the half with less stuff," and Nya was quick to take it out, whereupon Zane relaxed. The glowing, ebbing blobs of matter inside started circulating around its now much-more-crowded new circuit. Nya examined it. The blobs inside were very small.

"I hope that there's nothing important in this side, now," and Nya carefully placed it into the open panel on Pixal's chest.

She whirred to life, and Hikari couldn't help but smile and put her arm around Micah as Pixal let out a gasp. "Where am I? What happened?" she asked, looking bemused.

Her green eyes fell on Zane's 'heart'. "You gave me half your power source," she stated, "my... processor does not compute."

Zane shrugged. "You are the only one who knows Borg's system. You are vital to the mission."

And then his gaze softened, his cheeks flushed slightly, and he glanced away. "And... I think you might be vital to me."

He extended his hand shakily, and Pixal slowly took it, and a little spark travelled through their fingers. Hikari beamed as Edna said warmly, "Awww, robot love. Call me a sucker, but they don't even have half of what you and Jay have," and she was looking at Nya.

Pixal blinked. "Nya and Jay? Judging by Perfect Match Compatibility, perhaps Nya and Cole may be a closer comparison."

Hikari let out a gasp. "Wait- Perfect Match?" she asked, and her eyes were wide as she looked at Pixal. "Pixal, are you using your own Perfect Match system, or...?"

"No, I am referring to the original database files," Pixal responded.

"But that's it- the main one was corrupted. When we first got to Borg Industries I spotted the Overlord's eyes on the screen of the Perfect Match Console. I think the Overlord's just trying to stir up trouble among us!" And then she shrugged. "Either that, or he just takes an interest in people's relationships. Who knows?'

Everyone let out a snicker or a snort at the last part, before becoming more serious about the matter.

"I am not sure if the files were corrupted or changed," Pixal responded quietly, "I do not have access to the programming, and therefore cannot find it. But judging from the files I found in the database, Nya and Cole are a perfect match."

Jay spluttered, and everyone turned to see him. "Cole's Nya's perfect match?!" he cried out.

Hikari raised her hands placatingly. "W-we don't know that, Jay... it could easily be the Overlord trying to mess with us," she quickly intervened.

"Mommy's right! If the Overlord can take over cars and traffic lights, he can most certainly take control of a machine that pairs you up with people," Micah piped up.

Nya smiled apologetically at Jay's sad expression, and walked towards him. "Jay..."

She reached out towards him-

The door opened.

"Huh- so quiet in here. What'd I miss? Signature Jay Walker gutbuster?" Cole asked casually as he walked in.

Jay's eyes flashed as he whipped around. "You- backstabbing, no good-!" And he lunged at Cole.

Hikari got in the way and grabbed him by his shoulders. "Jay, calm down!" she cried, alarmed.

Micah turned to Cole, smiled apologetically, before helping Hikari restrain Jay. Everyone except Nariko blinked at the sight of the little mindroid. "Er... who's this kid?" Kai asked.

"Mindroid. Although he is now Miniature Interactive Capable Assistive Help, a.k.a. Micah," Hikari responded distractedly as she gripped Jay's shoulders, "Jay, calm down, seriously, it's not Cole's fault!"

"What's not my fault?" Cole looked confused.

Micah took a deep breath before rattling off, "So Nya went to try out the Perfect Match machine back in Borg Industries but then her perfect match came up as you but mommy saw the Overlord's eyes on the screen so she's thinking that the Overlord actually corrupted the machine to give a false answer to cause discord between all of you and Jay's mad at you because Pixal just said you were Nya's perfect match due to the files."

"And I thought Jay was the only one who did that," Hikari mumbled, making an uncomfortable laugh spread through the room. "Look, guys, why don't we all go do something else for a bit? Calm down. Jay, Nya, Cole, please don't go near each other for a while, we don't need a catfight. I'm gonna go spend some time with Micah."

And with that, the two of them walked off.

Kai and Nariko shared a look before they left the trailer. Ed and Edna took their son's arms. "Why don't we keep working on the hovercopter, okay son?"

Jay shot Cole a look of loathing. "... sure," he said finally. Cole gave Nya a sheepish look before heading off. "I'm... just... gonna try to go help."

Nya sighed and picked up some tools. "Well I might as well fool around... you guys can do whatever you like." And she left, heading off to go do who-knows-what.

* * *

"Mommy?"

Hikari looked down at Micah, with his big innocent green eyes and his hopeful expression. "Oh- yeah, Micah?"

"So... what does Daddy do?" Micah tilted his head slightly as he looked up at his 'mother' in confusion.

"He's the Golden Ninja," and then Hikari pointed at herself, "and I'm the Silver Ninja."

Micah blinked, and binary code came flickering over his eyes. "Analyzing databanks," he stated simply, before, "so the Overlord is after you for your power?"

Hikari sighed and nodded sadly. "Yes, unfortunately. It's annoying."

Micah giggled at the slightly offhand comment and nuzzled his mom. "Well, I know you can beat him, mommy!" He made a cutely heroic pose that made Hikari just giggle slightly.

"Aww, thanks, you," and she gently ruffled his hair, making him squeal and hug her with delight.

Hikari smiled slightly and carefully squeezed the child, who happily hugged her back, smiling brightly at her. She was strongly reminded of herself as a child, but she was pretty sure that was a coincidence.

Or perhaps when she hacked him she'd transferred part of her personality to him. Who knows, she really had no idea of knowing. And even if she did... well, it's not like she wanted to change that at all.

"Mommy, do you and Daddy love each other?"

"Yes," and Hikari sighed, a happy smile coming over her face as she answered the question, "Lloyd and I love each other."

Micah was silent for some time, before stating, "Well, if you and Daddy love each other, then I love you just as much. No, wait-" and he spread his arms as wide as he possibly could, "I love you more!"

And what could Hikari do when he casually stated this except for shake her head with a soft laugh and hug her little kid?

 **A/N: This chapter is probably much shorter than some of my other ones, for good reason. One, I actually am typing this up in the Notes of my iPad, which means I can't write nearly as well. And two... Originally I planned for Zane and Pixal to try to get to know each other better as well as give Micah a new design... and then I realized that Pixal is relatively new and Zane is, well, Zane, so they wouldn't have much to talk about. So, it'd be a relatively short talk.**

 **Next chapter is the rest of this particular episode. So, toodleoo, hope you liked this shorter chapter! Bye!**

 **Responses to commenters:**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **MMM: Hehehe xD Lloyd is just like 'who the what now?' And the Serpentine don't show up for another two chapters, I think.**

 **Michelle Rita: Yes! I think Nariko is definitely a pretty down-to-earth person, so she'd definitely act like that. Nariko doesn't blush as much, because she's not nearly as innocent, but... I'm glad you like the shipping xD**

 **Shelly Marsh: (pokes you) You alive?**

 **Guest: Mmhm.**

 **molly654: Sorry, I am not accepting OCs like that for this story... and thanks :)**

 **Sandshrew master 317: Ding ding ding!**

 **Guest: ...? (could you pinpoint what I wrote wrong? It's pretty much impossible unless I physically go back and reread the chapters... and I don't really do that.**

 **Quotev:**

 **MCianEnder: And you has that!**

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 **Katherynn: Oh :) Thanks! I'm glad you like this story! Don't worry, I'm definitely planning on finishing it. :)**

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 **pinkninjagirl101: Hehe xD**

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 **Bye!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x.**


	30. Chapter 30: SPECIAL!

**Warning, spoilers for a large majority of the remainder of this story is in this chapter. Proceed at your own risk (or you can come back after the story is finished and read it...)**

"Mommy!"

Hikari looked up from her book as Micah came thundering into the room, waving his arms wildly and knocking a tower of papers all over the floor. Hikari winced a little bit, but said nothing- those were the papers she'd been planning on shredding the other day. "Yes, Micah?" she asked, resisting a chuckle as she pulled aside a few strands of hair.

"Daddy said dinner's almost ready for the family reunion," he said happily, almost knocking over one of the piles of books all over the floor. Then Micah crawled into her lap, his dark hair falling into his green eyes and him puffing it out. It fell back almost right away, so Hikari didn't really see the point. "What are you doing?"

"Writing about our adventures," Hikari answered, adjusting her bun and shifting her glasses slightly, smiling at her son. Micah's eyes went big and round and happy and adorable, and he pretty much stood on her lap to see it, making her wince slightly but still smile as bright as the rising sun as he threw his arms into the air to peer down at her still majorly unfinished draft. "Really?! What part are you on?"

"The part where we met you, you silly goosey," Hikari teased, poking her son in the stomach and making him giggle uncontrollably, squirming in her tickle attack. "Are Uncle Kai and Auntie Nariko in the story, too?" he asked, once the giggles subsided. Hikari wrapped her arms around him so he wouldn't topple to the floor and possible crack his skull open.

"Yep, I had to ask them soo many questions," and Hikari chuckled a bit as she twirled her pen. "I don't think they minded that much, though. Who's NOT coming to dinner, by the way?" she asked, continuing to twirl her pen.

Micah thought about it, doing what his dad did and putting a finger to his chin thoughtfully. It just proved to make him look even cuter. "Ummm... I don't think anyone's not coming. Even Ms. Skylor said she'd bring some dishes!" And he smiled. "I hope she brought the puffy pot stickers!"

Hikari had to laugh at this. "You always want the puffy pot stickers. I swear, you're becoming mini-Dareth."

The doorbell rang along with their vestiges of giggles. "Hikari, can you get that please?" Lloyd shouted as the sound of cooking and clattering pots and pans sounded from the kitchen, "I'm trying to cook this chicken without burning it to a crisp!"

"Make sure not to add too much oil, then, last time you cooked I think you were trying to make a fireball with how much oil you were adding," Hikari answered, but she shut her notebook and placed it in the center of the desk before getting up and walking over to the door, avoiding the wooden spoon Lloyd jokingly chucked at her head. She ducked into the kitchen, returned the spoon with a warm kiss and a smile, before nipping back over to the door. "Coming!" she called, straightening out her slightly lumpy sweater and letting her hair down. It fell around her shoulders neatly.

Ronin stood there, rubbing his head awkwardly. "Uh.. hey."

"Hey." Hikari puffed some more hair out of her face before smiling slightly and a bit tightly at Ronin.

The two of them stood there a bit awkwardly before Micah suddenly popped out from behind his mother like a little jack-in-the-box and chirped happily, "Hi Mr. Ronin!"

Ronin's awkward expression faded, and he smiled at Micah slightly. "Hey, kid. How ya doin'?" he asked, tipping his hat. Surprisingly, despite his more-than-dubious appearance, Ronin was pretty good with children. Not... the best, but... they didn't run away screaming from him or anything. Which was pretty good.

"Good! Mommy made curry for dinner," Micah said happily, and Hikari stepped aside with a soft chuckle and a shake of the head. "Come in, Ronin." That was true. Micah was always excited when she made curry. She always made it too spicy so she wasn't sure why Lloyd and Micah acted like little kids whenever she made it for dinner. Sometimes Lloyd would lick the bowl clean, and Micah would imitate him. This resulted in Hikari doing the same, and all three of them (possibly four, in the future- Lloyd and Hikari were trying to decide if they wanted another one) breaking down in giggles.

Back to the subject.

Besides looking older, Ronin hadn't changed much, and Hikari had to resist the urge to smack him when she saw him pocketing a vase. At least the vase was a rather ugly one, so they weren't losing much in this case.

* * *

Skylor followed not even a minute later, carrying a plate of puffy pot stickers.

It was a wonder that she'd managed to even ring the doorbell with how big the platter in her hands was, actually.

And it was also a wonder how she'd managed to drive here with the puffy pot stickers remaining in an almost perfect pyramid shape. Although, she WAS the owner of her dad's restaurant (hey, now that meant it was HER restaurant!), so she surely had experience in those sorts of matters.

Hikari arched her eyebrow at the redhead with the heaping platter. "I sure hope you brought extras, since both Dareth and Micah are here in the same vicinity," was her teasing greeting.

"About three boxfuls," Skylor answered, making the two of them laugh, before Hikari took the platter from her. She almost dropped it from the weight, but she shifted her grip so it was more secure on the platter. "Come on in, Ronin's already here. Oh, and _please_ check and make sure Lloyd hasn't burned the kitchen down by now... he's trying to cook some chicken for tonight." And she punctuated the joke with a soft laugh.

Skylor laughed again, moving aside a few locks out of her hazel eyes. "I think I'd be okay with that. See you inside, then."

And she strolled in to go ensure the chicken was not a fireball this time around. That would be very nice. Only Kai had enjoyed the chicken last time around. And even then he'd noted that it was a little 'too burned'.

Hikari had declared Lloyd on a 'slightly higher' level of cooking than Cole, resulting in him jokingly tossing a shrimp at her. She'd caught it in her mouth and eaten it, making everyone laugh.

Their laughter had increased to an almost hysterical level when Micah scolded his father that 'proper gentlemen don't throw shrimps at their wife', meaning he'd been getting into that game Hikari'd bought him for Christmas. Something about a puzzle-solving Professor that went on adventures (and who, of course, was a proper gentleman). She wasn't sure. He sure liked it a lot, though.

Lloyd had pointed out he wasn't a gentleman, and Micah said, in a lofty sort of tone, "You should be!" And then he'd devoured another puffy pot sticker before Dareth could sneak it off his plate, making the laughter rise back up to 'Level Hysteria'.

Hikari had to smile fondly at that memory.

* * *

Dareth was at the door when Hikari went to open it next, with a hopeful look in his dark brown eyes.

"Are there puffy pot stickers?" was the first thing he said. Hikari stifled a burst of laughter at the greeting.

He hadn't changed much, except maybe some wrinkles around the eyes and a bit more of a potbelly. That was hidden under his clothing, though, so he still looked relatively fine. Okay, and his hair was turning kind of gray, but it was nowhere near Misako's, or Sensei Wu's. Dareth wasn't THAT old, after all.

"Good to see you too," Hikari joked to the (much) older male, opening the door and letting him inside the house with a warm smile, "and there're plenty."

He ran inside without much more of a greeting, greeting Micah who squealed in delight as Dareth picked him up and spun him around rapidly, the both of them losing their balance and landing in a heap with a crash and several giggles from Micah (and some chuckling from Dareth). Hikari checked to make sure they hadn't broken anything within their bodies and outside of that.

Bad at karate and martial arts he might be (and getting girls, if Hikari was to be brutally honest), but he was _exceptionally_ good with children. Too bad that no one wanted to date him.

It also didn't hurt that the both of them were pretty much obsessed with puffy pot stickers.

Perhaps her jibe about Micah being mini-Dareth earlier hadn't been too far off the mark.

Micah rushed back over smacked her gently on the leg with a slightly scolding 'Mommy' look, making her realize she'd said that out loud. The two of them retained that position for a minute, before they both broke down into giggling fits.

* * *

"Hey sis!" And Nariko hugged her sister tightly, making Hikari gasp slightly in pain from the tightness of the hug.

"Hey!" And Hikari hugged back once she felt less like she was in a Constrictai's grip, rubbing her still-shorter-sister's hair so it stood up at all angles, "it's good to see you!"

"Thanks," and Nariko stood back so that she was with Kai. Her hair was still the same, but her red eyes had slight smile wrinkles around them. Or, perhaps it'd be more accurate to say smirk?

Either way, both of them smiled at her. And her sister was taller than when they'd been in their late teens, of course. She was still about an inch shorter than her, a fact that Hikari had used to her advantage quite a few times in the past years- whether it was to steal the last cookie from the cookie jar, or hold Nariko's favorite fish and chips out of the way so Nariko couldn't eat too many of them.

Kai smiled at his wife, his brown hair still spiky. He hadn't bothered to change his hair style, except maybe it was a little longer than before. He hadn't used that much hair gel, either, so it was a bit more floppy. So that was a bit new. He barely showed signs of aging as well. Nariko ruffled his hair a lot more, too, judging by how floppy and fluffy his hair appeared.

In fact, Hikari would've teased them about finding the Fountain of Youth, except they didn't look that old in the first place. If she was to be entirely honest they looked as though they'd aged about a year or maybe three from when they were teenagers/young adults.

"Skylor, Ronin and Dareth were here, they beat you this time," Hikari teased her sister, who very maturely stuck out her tongue and strolled in in a mock-haughty manner. Hikari smiled before glancing at Kai. "By the way, we're not having any Fireball Chicken this year."

Kai chuckled at the joke and followed his wife inside the house as the loud, thrilled squeals of Micah rang through the house and Nariko's laughter, Nariko having dropped the haughty manner.

* * *

"Oh! Zane, Pixal, good to see you!"

Zane smiled. His pale blonde hair looked the same as usual. In fact, the only sign of his being rebuilt a few years back was the strange silvery lines on his cheeks. "It's good to see you too."

Pixal hadn't even changed at all, except maybe her clothing- she now wore a pale blue blouse and jeans, and her silver hair seemed to be in a more mature-looking hairstyle.

"Good, we have two competent cooks in here, can you please go check the kitchen, Zane? I'm worried Lloyd's cooking hasn't improved much..." Hikari joked kindheartedly, winking to lighten the jibe.

Zane chuckled at Hikari's jibe. "Of course." He kissed his wife gently on the cheek, making Pixal smile slightly at him. "I'll be in the kitchen." And he went on inside the house.

Hikari had to grin at how chaste the two of them were, still, after so many years.

Pixal came in as well, smiling at Hikari with a soft 'hello', before going to greet Micah and do a 'check up' on him. Hikari might be pretty good at mechanics, but programming was not her strong suit, so she was afraid that he had bugs and she couldn't fix him. Pixal had become their 'children's doctor'.

A fact proven by Micah's childish personality from her slightly-failed hacking experiment back in their teenage years, when they'd been in the middle of the sub-power station and were surrounded by nindroids who all wanted to kill them. Not to mention Micah, who hadn't been programmed the way he was programmed now back then.

Ah... good times.

* * *

"You two are here!" and Hikari grinned at Jay and Nya, who'd rushed in at 5:30 precisely. Everyone else was either super early or just early. Or late, since Cole, Sensei Wu, and Misako weren't here yet.

Jay was wearing an eye patch- the scar that had always been there had gotten even more evident over the years, and he'd simply pulled one over so people would stop asking about the scar, although that had kinda failed, since people asked about the eye patch now- and Nya's hair was a bit longer. They looked a bit older than before... but hey, they were okay still.

Of course, you couldn't ignore the fact that Nya was wearing looser and looser clothing at this point.

Hikari hugged the both of them in turns. "You guys are in luck, Micah's been dying to see you," she gently teased, "how have you two been?"

"Wonderful," Jay sighed dreamily as he smiled at his wife, and Nya rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

"You two haven't changed one bit. C'mon in," and she ushered them inside. "Be forewarned that you may not get a chance to eat any of the puffy pot stickers, since Dareth and Micah are in the same room together."

Jay grinned, and as Nya continued on inside the house, he whispered to Hikari, "Only three months until the baby's due."

"That's great," Hikari agreed warmly, "tell Nya congratulations for me."

She had learned the hard way a few months ago that Nya was sensitive about her baby- a fact learned when Lloyd had commented on it (he'd said 'congratulations', not something rude, by the way) and Nya had chucked a frying pan at both of their heads, followed by a half-empty ketchup bottle, a (thankfully empty) can of tomato sauce, and a jar of pickles (which Lloyd had caught and returned to Nya quickly).

* * *

"I brought cake!"

And Cole held up a big plate of chocolate cake that looked remarkably un-nibbled on. It also looked very pristine and made Hikari's mouth water a bit at the sight of it. At least Cole hadn't eaten it.

Cole looked just as he did nowadays- a bit green. Literally, his skin was a pale shade of green, and his formerly dark brown eyes had a bit of an emerald-like tinge to it.

"Impressive, you managed to not eat any of it," Hikari joked, once she'd stopped salivating over the perfection of the cake.

Cole grinned at the joke. "Well, I mean, being a ghost has improved my appetite, but... I thought it'd be fair for us all to share it," he gently poked fun as he stepped closer to the doorway. "Especially Lloyd and you; he loves this cake as much as I do and I'm fairly certain you like it too."

"And that's saying something," Hikari chimed in with a big, warm grin.

"Precisely." Cole bowed sarcastically, still being careful not to drop the cake. It was pretty impressive that he managed to keep ahold of it and not drop the entire thing on the floor.

Hikari chuckled and opened the door wider. "Well, c'mon in. And by the way, that 'lifelong kitchen ban' I placed on you two years ago is still in place, so I'd better not catch you in there," she warned him as she took the cake from him. Once again, she nearly dropped it, but tightening her grip slightly and shifting her weight ensured the safety of the cake.

"Aww..."

* * *

"How's Lloyd?" Sensei Wu asked, after Hikari had hugged the two of them with a warm smile.

"Wonderful," Hikari said happily, taking Sensei Wu's staff and leaning it against the wall gently to avoid scratching it, as well as hugging Misako again, "and you two look just as wonderful as you did before."

Sensei Wu chuckled a bit. Indeed, they looked just as they had several years ago. You wouldn't have been able to tell they'd aged, but then again most people didn't look them directly in the eye or anything."Did anyone eat anything they shouldn't have?" he inquired.

"Nope. I even put the cake somewhere secret so no one can get at it," Hikari joked playfully, and with a warm laugh the two elders walked in, Misako to greet her son and Sensei Wu to go see how the others were doing.

Hikari knew (from what Hikari could tell from her brief trips from the kitchen and back) the ninja had all found an old game of Twister and were attempting to play, with varied results. Nariko was watching them and spinning the spinner, since she 'enjoyed watching them suffer'. Hikari was pretty sure her sister was joking. She certainly hoped so.

Zane was actually, surprisingly, doing pretty well. Cole was doing pretty well as well, but Jay and Kai looked as though they were pretty much dying.

Although Kai and Cole were in a pretty awkward position, with Cole actually going THROUGH Kai (who was shivering from the odd effect a ghost gives you when it goes through you). Hence why Kai finally collapsed, before jumping up and racing to the kitchen to down some hot sauce to warm up.

"Huh, I guess he couldn't handle it. Guys, hand on blue."

"Are you kidding me?! I think my back is going to break..."

* * *

"Sweetie," and Lloyd kissed Hikari on the cheek, making her blush gently as she twisted to see her husband, whose hair was showing the faintest signs of gray, "it's time to eat, you know."

"Hm, no, I don't," she teased back, making him smack her gently and making her laugh happily, before he turned to speak with his uncle and mother and she was left sitting there with his arm entwined around her tightly and protectively.

Hikari watched as everyone chatted and ate and laughed with a soft smile on her face.

Cole was showing anyone who was willing to watch that he could eat six puffy pot stickers at a time, to Jay and Kai's amusement, while Nariko and Pixal were discussing programming (Nariko actually had improved her skills to the point where Borg Industries had hired her to make video games, which she pretty much excelled at), Nya chiming in every few minutes.

Sensei Wu, Lloyd, and Misako were all talking, Lloyd's arm around Hikari protectively, and Dareth, Skylor and Ronin were catching up with one another. From what Hikari could hear they were discussing the restaurant, and Ronin's part-time job there.

According to Skylor's somewhat teasing and somewhat annoyed comments, Hikari got the impression that Ronin skived off at times. Her suspicion was confirmed when she saw Ronin smirking slightly.

Hikari looked down at Micah, who was eating... okay, scarfing down the food they'd cooked rapidly, looking and sounding quite hungry. Especially for a nindroid who didn't need to eat... it was kinda like Zane, if she had to think about it.

She gently bonked him on the head to remind him of his manners, but didn't do much otherwise. He did slow down, so it wasn't a total waste or anything.

She gazed around the room again, and her eyes softened happily.

"If this really was a story, I think this might be what qualifies as a perfect ending," Hikari spoke softly to herself.

And then she smiled, widely, to the point where her teeth were showing a little bit, before starting to eat Lloyd's not-burned-for-once chicken, and some of the puffy pot stickers (which were already running incredibly low between the fourteen people in the room) and one of Zane's stews, and some of her own curry, which for once, didn't seem all that spicy.

She might have to write this in her book as the ending... but even if _this_ wasn't the ending, it was still a picture-perfect moment.

And after all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

 **A/N: Happy (late) anniversary, guys!**

 **So I wrote a special for this story's one year anniversary. I never expected to get so many views or favorites or anything on any of my websites for this impulsive plot bunny, and people love it, apparently. And I know this special is short... but hey, it's just a special, so yeah xD**

 **This is just a special, not the official epilogue. The official one is actually a little different than this one (okay, a lot different) but it does follow this storyline.**

 **This is following the canonical storyline of this story, though, so Nariko and Kai _do_ end up together (and Cole is alone with his cake, for now), but things might still change due to Season 7 coming out, so we're kind of there. I also tried to avoid spoiling too much.**

 **Not sure if Ninjago will be ending after that, but we'll see.**

 **Thank you for following this story, and I hope you guys'll stick with me until the end on this story; I'm really glad you all enjoy this story and I'll see you next time (which might not be for a while, since my inspiration flares up, and then dies down.)**

 **Responses to commenters:**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **Shelly Marsh: Haha, glad you liked it xD**

 **Michelle Rita: Whoops... there's fluff but not as much... hopefully it's enough to keep you from exploding xD**

 **Pierce: No spoilers xD**

 **molly654: Ah, is that so? Well, thanks for reading anyway! :)**

 **Quotev:**

 **LovelyLife: Indeed xD**

 **Dream lighting: Not a new chapter, but a special, so hope you're okay with that xD**

 **Painted Wings: ? And I hope the new fanart comes out soon xD**

 **CrystalSong11: Hahaha xD That was a fun comment to read**

 **Wattpad:**

 **pinkninjagirl101: Okay, cool :)**

 **NarwhalPower: No, no he doesn't xD**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	31. Chapter 31: Love Advice

"I can't believe that they did that to Sensei Wu!" Kai was fuming, and quite loudly too as he paced the ground so furiously everyone was fairly certain he was going to wear a repetitive pattern into the dusty dirt. "They turned our _Sensei_ against us. Like, who DOES that?!"

Nariko patted him on the shoulder with a sort of thoughtful look. "Well... at least we know that nothing bad's happened to Zane in transferring half of his power source to Pixal. And that Micah can punch the heck out of those robots."

And everyone had to hide a grin or even a slight snort at the thought of Micah giving a sudden punch and 'accidentally' knocking off one of the heads of the nindroids, and knocking it halfway across the junkyard.

"Mommy said I was allowed to," Micah said immediately, pointing at his 'mother'. Hikari rolled her eyes and gently bopped him on the head. "You dummy. Never said you were in trouble, did I?" she spoke, over Micah's giggling. "Don't be so defensive," she teased him, poking him in the cheek and making him giggle even more.

Cole's smile faded to a darker look. "And if we wanna save Sensei, we'll need to know who that _stranger_ is!" Cole said, his fists clenching as he glared at the spot where the cloaked stranger had been.

Hikari glanced at Nya over Micah's head, catching her eye, and mouthed, _I need to talk to you later._

 _Same,_ Nariko mouthed as well, pointing at the three of them, before looking away and back to the others.

Nya looked nervous.

"I may have an answer for that. One moment." And Pixal started scanning the area where the white-robed stranger had been, Kai still visibly fuming as his hands throttled the Techno-blade he was holding. Nariko frowned and put a hand on his back, rubbing it. "Easy, Firefly."

Despite his obvious anger, Kai had to smile a little bit, his eyes still looking as though they were flaming angrily. Nariko hadn't used that nickname for about two years. As Nariko kept rubbing his back, Kai relaxed until his glare looked more like a scowl.

"Hmm," and Cole looked up as Pixal held something small and white in her hand. "What is it?"

Jay glared at him. "OBVIOUSLY it's a clue, dirt clod!"

Cole glowered back. "I knew THAT, Zaptrap. But it's so small. I just wanted to-"

Hikari facepalmed as she realized that they were arguing, AGAIN. Over a girl. "For some reason I feel like that they've _just_ started puberty and are acting like a bunch of LOVE-SICK BEETLES FIGHTING OVER A FEMALE," and she raised her voice so they could hear her clearly.

Both boys looked at her in surprise. "Hey!" they chorused in indignation.

"Stop it, you two!" Nya broke into the fight, shoving the two fighting boys back. "Pixal, can you analyze it?"

"The sample size is far too small," Pixal answered, turning back and holding the tiny, white thing in her fingers while glancing at it, "but in time I should have an answer."

"In that case," Zane spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to the pale nindroid, "we should waste no more time and get back to the city. I can use my falcon vision to give Lloyd a warning of our findings."

Nya looked worried. "I thought taking out the power would give us the upper hand; but now that they have it, and we don't... I guess the power has only SHIFTED," she mumbled, worried.

Everyone stood there, worried, before Hikari clapped her hands together, bringing them all out of the worried trance they'd fallen into. "Well, then we'd better warn Lloyd."

Nariko snorted a little. "You just wanna see him."

Hikari paused, her hands still together from when she'd clapped them together. "Hm, not gonna deny it, that does sound nice."

A few laughs, although everyone- including Hikari- still seemed extremely apprehensive about the whole situation.

Kai shoved his hands in his pockets and frowned down at his feet. "Well... I guess we should get ready, then."

"Mmnn," and Hikari glanced at Zane. "Zane, is your falcon here?"

"Nearly."

Hikari looked around at everyone and took a deep breath, making everyone look at her. She crossed her arms and shut her eyes, a rather uncomfortable look crossing her face. "So, Pixal, would you say that's a scale? Like from a snake?"

Pixal inclined her head politely. "Indeed, I believe that's what it's from."

Hikari's eyes opened, glowing a faint purple. "... well. I guess that means the Serpentine are back on the loose."

* * *

They'd just finished recording the message, and the falcon had taken off, when Nya, Hikari, and Nariko went off together.

... okay, and Micah. Seriously, that kid was like a baby glue stick; he refused to part ways with his 'mommy'.

"You... guys needed to talk to me?" Nya shifted nervously. Both Nariko and Hikari were kind of scary in their own way. Nariko, despite having the darkness purged from her, was actually still incredibly scary intimidating around people, since she didn't really know how to act around people besides kids and the ninja.

Hikari was just scary because... well... let me just say, no one really wants to have that girl angry.

Micah stood guard. Kai peeked around the corner, and Micah shooed him away. Hikari smirked slightly at her kid before turning back to Nya and nodding, a more serious expression on her face.

"Yeah. Nya, is what that 'Perfect Match' machine still weighing on your mind?"

Nya winced a little, amber eyes looking rather apologetic. "... is it that obvious?"

"Yes," both girls chorused simultaneously.

"Nya, when it came to cutting the wires, there was a black and a blue wire, but you literally hesitated so long I thought for sure Cole and Jay were going to get crushed," Nariko stated bluntly. Nya winced again.

"Cutting both definitely did the trick, so I'm glad you cut them both. But... it's just a machine. And a machine's opinion is, to be bluntly honest, very screwy. Let me get something straight; did you have any feelings towards Cole BEFORE the whole thing?"

"... no..."

"Did you even consider having feelings towards him?"

"... no."

Hikari spread her hands a little, looking politely puzzled and a little satisfied. "Well then I don't see the problem."

"Nya, a machine's opinion is really not a good one. Like I told you back at Borg Industries, I don't need a machine's opinion on my love life," Nariko said quietly. "A machine is a machine. With the exception of Zane and Pixal, most machines can't tell emotions from, say, a can of peaches."

Despite the conversation, all three girls had to stifle a grin or a giggle at the thought of emotions being packed into a can of peaches.

"Nya, there is one thing you do need to follow- your heart. And yes, I'm aware that I sound like a Hallmark greeting card right now. I'm not saying you need to go around between those two trying to figure out what you want... but I think maybe, right now, you need to just take a break from boys, or romance, or whatever. It'll also give Jay and Cole a break, and it'll give you as much time as you need to figure out what you really want," Hikari said quietly.

Nya blinked and stared at the both of them. "So... you're telling me I should break off any relationships between those two and myself, for now."

Nariko nodded. "It's probably the best decision. Don't act romantic around them. Just act like you normally would with, say, Zane, or me, or Hikari. Just treat them like they're a friend. Or, if you have to, think of them like a brother."

"... I... I think I like that suggestion," Nya said slowly, twisting her hands together slightly and fidgeting with her Samurai X bracelet.

"It's probably the best idea we can come up with for now. It's more of a Band-Aid on the situation, though, because if I know either of them- and I do- they're just going to keep arguing," Hikari said, grimacing, "but it might cool down the conflict a bit."

"... y... you guys are right. Okay, I'll go break it off right now," and Nya stood up, a small smile on her lips. "... thanks, guys. I think I really needed that."

"No problem," Nariko said with a casual nod.

"Aye-aye, cap'n," Hikari joked, and saluted. Nya chuckled, before leaving the secluded corner they'd been in.

Nariko glanced at Hikari. "How much do you wanna bet that those two aren't going to take the news all that well?"

Hikari laughed at her sister and stood up. "You and your betting. C'mon, let's go help the others out. C'mon, kiddo," and she scooped up Micah and blew a raspberry on his stomach, making him squeal with joy.

 **A/N: This is probably the shortest chapter EVER in this story. I apologize for that, but this was more of a part 2 to the previous chapter (Chapter 29, Design and Rivalry), so it wasn't meant to be that long. Sorry again! I also just don't like this episode that much, so that also contributed to the major procrastination and short length of the chapter.**

 **Did anyone see the sneak peek to the new season on YouTube? (squeals)**

 **Anyway, responses to commenters!**

 **Fanfiction:**

 **Shelly Marsh: (stares at all the confetti) ... um... perhaps you should curb it in? But thanks, I really appreciate the comment :)**

 **Michelle Rita: Haha, IF they have a second child, I'll keep that in mind. It'll probably be the epilogue (if there ever is one... xD)**

 **MMM: of course!**

 **molly654: No, it's no problem whatsoever! Glad you like it!**

 **Quotev:**

 **LovelyLife: Glad you do!**

 **scarletthelegendary: Yep! I can actually imagine Hikari as a writer, but I don't know why :3**

 **PaintedWings: LOL, yeah xD**

 **CRAZYNINJABRIII: Yep! I will try. Once it gets to Season 10 (if there is a season 10), though, I'm putting my foot down.**

 **Wolf girl: Yep, it's spoiler city.**

 **Wattpad:**

 **Narwhal_Power: Yep, I do wish it had a bit more of an effect, though :/ Also, it should've caused a paradox- since Clouse never released Nadakhan, Jay couldn't have made his wish that none of it happened, so Nadakhan would've gotten out anyway, but then Jay would've made the wish, which meant... yeah, you see? xD Just typing that made my brain hurt xD**

 **See y'all next chapter!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


	32. AN

**Hello, everybody! Long time no see!**

 **Sadly, this is not an update, and I apologize.**

 **What this is, is a notice that I am rewriting A Pure Heart because the old version (this version) isn't very good, and I've changed my writing style to the point where that if I were to pick up the story again from this point, it'd just be weird. Beyond that, there is also just a lot of story bits that I made up as I went along and I should clean it up a little bit. The storyline is mostly the same, but there are a few surprises for people who have been with me since I published the original back in 2015.**

 **You guys can find the new version up on my profile on Fanfiction, or if you're on Quotev, please come have a look at it on Fanfiction because I'm not sure if I should publish it to Quotev as well. Please feel free to review on it, and I hope you enjoy the new version better than this one (this one makes me facepalm because I took so many shortcuts, oml).**

 **See you in the rewrite! Or, if I don't see you in the rewrite, thank you for reading A Pure Heart!**

 **x.X. A.L. X.x**


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